Coin-Operated Singing Bird Cage Automaton

This extremely rare, early Swiss automaton singing bird box by the famed Charles Bruguier is housed in a case enveloped in luxurious tortoiseshell. Ev...

One of the most amazing timepieces we have ever acquired that offers far more than meets the eye, this incredible work of art blends the beauty of a painting with the mechanical complexities of both a cylinder music box and an automaton. While it is clear to see the integrated clock residing within the arched giltwood and gesso frame, when activated, this painting quite literally comes alive. As the cylinder mechanism within plays its lovely tune, every character in the farrier's shop becomes animated – from the group of farrier's toiling away at the forge and anvil forming the horseshoes, to the wagging of the charming terrier's tale. This musical automaton picture clock is attributed to Xavier Tharin of Paris who was the preeminent creator of this fantastical "moving pictures", especially this particular farrier scene. His process mixed oil painting and hand-colored lithograph images that were layered starting from the back, middle and foreground to craft the complex series of movements throughout the painting. A look inside this particular work reveals the complex mechanism (with the three gongs, pendulum and cylinder components immediately visible) which must run the timepiece, the cylinder musical component plus the multitude of moving elements in the painting...a truly incredible feat considering the technical prowess to create just one of these devices. Musical picture clocks...

This charming musical jewelry and sewing box is a work of sublime artistry. Almost certainly German or Austrian in origin and crafted of deep, ebonized...

This special and important Swiss gold music box is chased and engraved with a set of musical instruments surrounded by elaborate swirls of ornate foliage. Embossed with a delightful braided gold design, the two-compartment box features an exquisite oval agate key, which opens a recessed lock in the base of the box. Such a box would have been a prized possession and would have been able to fit neatly into a gentleman’s waistcoat pocket. Ingenious miniature portable devices, musical snuff boxes...

Automaton Singing birds Automaton singing birds housed in a gilded case standing on a stepped gilded base. Three articulated singing bird...

This 19th-century French automaton from the late 1800s showcases a delightful ensemble of features: three vibrant animated birds, a cascading waterfall, a tree surrounded by rocky ou...

Threes a crowd and a good sound... When wound and actuated by start/stop lever to side, the three birds take turns to sing passages of the sequential birdsong, moving beaks, heads a...

Double the fun... When wound and actuation lever set to continuous position, the pair of full taxidermy perched birds take turns to sing the continuous phrases, by opening and closi...