Single automaton “Singing Bird” in an octagonal domed cage on a gilded pedestal with flower garlandsSold

The automaton is made in the form of an octagonal dome cage made of brass rods - smooth and twisted, with a “rope” profile, with a hammered belt along the lower edge and a hinged lattice door on the front side. The dome is completed with a patinated brass ball with a movable ring-handle, a signature detail of Bontems products.
The cage is mounted on an octagonal pedestal with a gilded surface, decorated with molded/chased floral rosettes and garlands on the edges and a leaf border along the lower edge. The bottom of the cage is covered with fabric; in the center there is a brass crossbar on a stand, on which is mounted a mechanical singing bird with plumage made of natural feathers of a modest brownish-gray color (type of female sparrow/nightingale) - a “workhorse” among bright exotics, characteristic of the serial production of Parisian workshops.
The spring is wound with a steel key with an oval head through a hole on the side of the pedestal; on the bottom plate there is a hammer-type start-stop lever and a sound window. When launched, the bird sings: turns, flaps its wings and tail, opens its beak; the sound is produced by a cam-controlled bellows mechanism hidden in the pedestal.
Attribution and tagging
No marks were identified. The attribution of the Bontems workshop is established by a combination of features: a spherical completion with a ring, an octagonal domed cage with twisted rods, a typology of a faceted pedestal with flower garlands and a hammer-operated trigger lever - all correspond to the workshop’s signature samples.
Condition
An item “found” in preservation requires restoration measures:
Cage: rods with uniform patina and darkening, without significant deformations; completion saved.
Pedestal: gilding with extensive losses down to the ground, stucco decoration preserved, with abrasions; bottom plate with wood cracks.
Bird: the plumage is worn out, with losses; the eye and beak are preserved.
Bottom fabric: dirty, with stains and signs of age.
Complete set: there is a steel winding key with an oval head (with traces of corrosion).