Objekt 1
Jug-shaped clock with songbird automaton
Description
Under a domed glass lid, the gem and pearl set jug displays a small clock and a songbird worked with real feathers in a miniature landscape. When you pull the release cord, the bird chirps. It also moves its beak and flaps its wings. The small base made of nephrite has been added later. This singing bird automaton is believed to have been a gift for Tsar Alexander I (1777-1825). The object was attributed in 2012 to Jacob Frisard (1753-1812?), a collaborator in the Geneva atelier of the famous automaton makers Henri-Louis (1752-1791) and Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721-1790) of La Chaux-de-Fonds, based on stylistic similarities.
Object description
Maker: attributed to Jacob Frisard (1753-1812?)
Geneva, around 1805
Gold, silver, enamel, pearls, precious stones, bird feathers, nephrite
Bequest Carl and Lini Nathan-Rupp, Binningen
Inv. 1982.1129.