Bautte & Moynier

共由三部分組成，包括一隻鳥籠，內有兩隻羽毛鮮亮的歌唱小鳥、噴泉及色彩鮮豔的蝴蝶，鳥籠連四角形底座，內有音樂裝置及時計，木製鍍金橢圓形底座

鳥籠
圓拱形鳥籠，穿孔枝葉圖案飾板，四根圓柱支撐，下方鏤空枝葉圖案飾板，爪形足。
穿孔圓拱飾七弦豎琴雕帶，尖頂飾類似圖案。
底座中央一銀色錶盤，直徑60毫米，羅馬數字，車床雕刻飾紋中央附Bautte & Moynier品牌標誌，立體樂器吊飾環繞錶盤，側面及背面飾板附枝葉圖案。



活動人偶
包括兩隻歌唱小鳥，環繞噴泉，噴泉上一隻蝴蝶。小鳥旋轉，拍動翅膀、尾翼並活動鳥喙，彷彿正從一枝飛向另外一枝，七根扭紋玻璃棒模仿噴泉水柱，頂部附銅鎏金花蕾，一隻彩繪銅及鋼製蝴蝶停留在花蕾上，拍動翅膀，旋轉身體。



擺輪心軸機芯，芝麻鏈，藍鋼擺輪游絲，無花紋擺輪，機芯應為l’Atelier des Courvoisier et Cie（活躍於1811-1845年）於瑞士拉紹德封所製。
每小時啟動音樂。



音樂
每小時或應要求啟動音樂。

* 拍品資料以英文圖錄為準。

Collection of Guido Reuge († 1994), Sainte-Croix, Vaud, Suisse.

Private collection, Switzerland.

Kerman-Bailly, Sharon, & Bailly, Christian, Oiseaux de Bonheur, Tabatières et Automates, Genève, Antiquorum Editions, 2001, pp. 197-198

Birdcage clocks were primarily made between 1780 and 1840. These objects were the masterpieces of a combined effort of the Swiss Fabrique including horologists who specialised in singing birds from Neuchatel, la Vallée de Joux and Geneva. Among the best known makers were Jaquet-Droz, Frédéric Leschot, Jacob Frisard,  Maillardet, the Rochats and the Bruguiers, who produced multiple components for musical mechanisms.  François Nicole and Charles-Frédéric Nardin were, however, associated with makers in the musical domain. These pieces were retailed by individuals such as Jean-François Bautte who was the most prominent seller of such luxury objects in Geneva.

Prohibitively high manufacturing costs made these objects extremely rare. The production of precious objects incorporating singing birds included a broad range from hanging cages, watches, snuffboxes, simple cages or table clocks. These pieces’ popularity appears to correlate with the expanding commercial relationship with the Chinese, Ottoman, and Russian markets, which blossomed towards the end of the eighteenth century.

The Jaquet-Droz were first to create singing birds cages.  Their work used small organs to produce the bird sound, which was clever, but made the birds bulky. With the introduction of the sliding piston in the late 18^th century, singing birds could be reduced in size to fit into a pocket watch. The next generation produced singing birds in an extremely small quantity, and they were considered the ultimate in luxury.  Many were built with watch movements by Piguet & Meylan, and singing birds by Freres Rochats. These objects could also be paired with music other than the birds’ songs. Mechanical music production was at its height, with unrivaled musical steel combs.

The rarity of these objects with one or more singing birds is exemplified by the fact that they are illustrated in numerous publications. The rarest pieces today are often part of museum collections. The numbers of privately held pieces have diminished and thus their public appearance generates tremendous interest among private institutions and discerning collectors. What further distinguishes the present example is its inclusion of an automated butterfly.  Maillardet’s inventory notes two large double bird cage clocks with automaton butterflies.  It is thought that only one other double bird cage clock with automaton butterfly is currently known.

Each piece, such as the present one, was the collaboration of several crafts and included the finest makers of the day. The completed piece was then delivered to the seller, in this case, Bautte & Moynier.  For example whilst the music is the work of Charles Nardin, it likely that the cage is the work of Courvoisier et C^ie, active in  La Chaux-de-Fonds between 1811 and 1845.

A small number of cages by this maker is known, each different, but with similar characteristics to the present piece, including the cage decoration and the use of fusee to drive the bird work.

The singing bird mechanism, which allows them to jump from branch to branch, can be attributed to Jean-David Maillardet who qualified in 1777 as an “expert engineer in horology and clock making”.

Jean-David Maillardet, expert clock maker and automaton maker, worked for some time at the horological manufactuerers in Berlin, and then settled in Fontaines in the Val-de-Ruz. He worked closely over many years with Robert et Courvoisier and with Jaquet-Droz.

Recognizing Jean-David Maillardet’s immense talent, in 1783 Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz gave the skilled mechanic les gros rouages – a significant part of the factory – along with a personal residence. Furthermore he provided him with a full-time writer and designer, which enabled Maillardet to build his own automata. Reports from several exhibitions (1804 and 1809) mention the bird cages built by Maillardet featuring “two canaries”, “hopping from branch to branch”.

He was, to our knowledge, the only craftsman creating this type of mechanism during this period.

The firm of Bautte & Moynier, at 61, rue du Rhône were registered in Geneva as working from 1824-1831. Charles F. Bautte was recognized for his quality creations of watches and jewels, and his reputation was outstanding. He is cited in writings by Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850), Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), and John Ruskin (1819-1900) were among his clients in Geneva in 1834.

 

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