https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2iE7vwtoeY&t=4s Rare... Lot 110

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2iE7vwtoeY&t=4s Rare gold (750‰) and enamel Swiss songbird box. Tabatière of rectangular shape with cut sides, enameled in full sky-blue on the main panels, the borders and sides enameled in black champlevé with gold decoration of latticework and acanthus leaves at the corners, the lid centered with an octagonal plate enameled with an allegorical scene of Light Love, featuring a reclining putto in a landscape holding a soaring bird with a ribbon, framed in gold. The invisibly hinged lid protects an openworked plate engraved with foliate scrolls, with no visible signature. The case back also opens with an invisible reverse hinge to reveal a compartment for snuff. The push-button on the front edge, with the addition of a small gold plate to prevent the mechanism from being activated when the lid is closed, opens the enamelled hinged scene and activates the bird, which moves from right to left while flapping its wings, moving its beak and tail at the same time, the musical mechanism imitating a bird's song. With keys, including winding key. Very good condition, slight wear scratches, movement as is. Switzerland, probably Geneva, circa 1810. Engraved sunburst hallmarks and inventory numbers. Height: 3.8 cm - Length: 9.1 cm Depth: 6.1 cm - Gross weight: 391.52 g Historical background Songbird snuffboxes appeared around 1784-1785, probably created by Pierre JACQUET-DROZ (1721-1790), a Neuchâtel watchmaker and creator of numerous automata. These technical and aesthetic marvels earned the firm a reputation and the admiration of European and foreign customers alike, who delighted in these little toys until the end of the 19th century. The Empire period saw the pinnacle of this art form, considered to be haute joaillerie. The boxes were generally small and compact, but contained complex mechanisms that enabled them to produce the sound of birdsong and chirping, often using real feathers. The enamel painting on our box, and in particular the scene on the lid, can be compared with the work of the greatest Geneva enamellers of the period, such as RICHTER, DUPONT or LISSIGNOL. Bibliography Alfred CHAPUIS, E. DROZ, Les automates, Figures artificielles d'hommes et d'animaux. Histoire et technique, Neuchâtel, 1949. Sandrine GIRARDIER, L'entreprise Jaquet-Droz, Entre merveilles de spectacle, mécaniques luxueuses et machines utiles, 1758-1811, 2020.