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Singing bird automaton

Bird in cage of gilt metal wire, with ring carrying handle, on base of carved gilt wood, decorated around the bottom with a band of moulded gesso in relief. Base of cage covered with gold-coloured crushed velvet. Bird on perch of brass tubing, a mounted North American Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea). The bird's song is produced by means of a miniature whistle, the pitch varied by a piston, controlled by a cam, which varies the length of the whistle tube.

  • Date:
    c.1900
  • Maker:
    Bontems
  • Collection:
    National Museums Liverpool
  • Inventory number:
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  • Place of production:
    Paris (Timezone: Europe/Paris)
  • Culture:
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  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:
  • Repository:National Museums Liverpool
  • Measurements:Height 540mm, diameter of base 300mm