Japy Freres

The gilt-bronze singing bird clock has a multi-piece case has decorative floral elements cast throughout, four detached decorative corner columns and beveled glasses to three sides. Above an animated bird set within a natural landscape is housed in a glazed framework surmounted by a decorative hinged handle.

The white porcelain dial has black Roman numerals for the hours and steel-cut tre-foil hands.

Clock Movement – The eight-day time and strike movement is wound and set off the backplate, has rack and snail striking on a bell and a cylinder balance platform above.

Animation Movement – The bird animation movement is housed in the base, wound and manually activated out the side and is linked to the bird above by thin chains that travel up the back of the movement. When activated it causes the bird to tweet and rotate side to side as it pecks the ground.

While a few of the automated singing bird carriage clocks activate the bird at the hour most are like this one with two completely independent movements.

For additional examples of automated singing bird carriage clocks see:

‘Carriage and Other Travelling Clocks’, Roberts, Chapter 14, pg. 233
‘A Century of Fine Carriage clocks’, Fanelli, pg. 75.
‘Flights of Fancy’, Bailly, pg. 327.
Bonhams, July 2014, Fine Clocks, Sale 21930, Lot 29.