67,850 CHF
Attributed to Blaise Bontems, Paris, circa 1860. 60. Extremely rare and spectacular singing automaton blackbird turning its head, flapping its wings, and opening its beak as it sings. Superbly made and feathered to resemble a real blackbird, body formed of a brass shell, blackened brass legs and real beak. Notes This extremely rare automaton blackbird can trace its "ancestry" back to antiquity. Indeed, mechanical animals are among the oldest forms of automata - a mechanical dove was created around 400 B.C. by Archytas of Tarentum! During the 18th century, inventors such as Jacques de Vaucanson sought to mimic natural functions, as with Vaucanson's famous duck, made around 1738. Today, Sony's robot dog Aibo can actually “learn” and interact with its master much the same as a live animal. When the makers of automata and horological pieces devoted themselves to the animal kingdom, they gave particular attention to the movements and characteristics of each species. Some mechanical animals were veritable pieces of jewelry made of precious metal and decorated with pearls, enamels, and precious stones. Others were more realistic: the 1828 inventory of the Piguet & Meylan workshop is said to have listed a “souris mécanique en peau naturelle”. ””. ”This blackbird automaton is extremely rare; only two others are known. One is in a private collection and the other, formerly in the Sandoz collection, is now on display in Le Locle's Musée des Monts. Its lifelike appearance is d
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2003-10-11
