Blaise Bontems Musical Automaton Singing Birds And Clock Under Glass Dome

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 outcrops and foliage, a tranquil pond, and a clock. Concealed within its base lies a sophisticated mechanism, complete with bellows and a flute designed to faithfully replicate bird calls, all activated by a key.

Crafted in Paris, this marvel bears the hallmark clockwork precision of Japy Frères (Japy Brothers) and the artistry of the Bontems family in automaton design. Blaise Bontems (1814-1881), captivated by the beauty of birdsong since childhood, gained renown for his lifelike automata featuring realistic avian melodies, ranging from the nightingale to the canary, finch, and blackbird. After honing his craft in Vosges, he established his own workshop in Paris in 1849, showcasing his creations at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. Praised by exhibition jurors as "toys for adults rather than children," Bontems' automatons commanded prices of £12, or £18 for rarer specimens featuring a clock (refer to D. Roberts, Mystery, Novelty and Fantasy Clocks, Atglen, 1999, p. 209). By the 1860s, his fame had spread internationally, with ninety percent of his automata finding homes abroad.

This exquisite automaton, not merely decorative but also functional and entertaining, represents days of meticulous craftsmanship. Each silk leaf, every delicate flower, and all the authentic feathers were painstakingly affixed by hand. The central bird emits a melodious whistle, while another pecks and flutters from branch to branch, and a third delicately sips from the pond – all choreographed by an intricate system of gears, levers, springs, and cams controlled by a pinned cylinder akin to those found in music boxes. Leather bellows expel air through a miniature flute, while cams regulate the flute's air column to produce a repertoire of notes, faithfully mimicking the songs of various bird species. The illusion of a cascading waterfall is achieved through a twisted glass rod that catches and refracts light as it rotates.