Beschreibung:

made most probably as a direct commission circa 1799-1802, - The case by George Reymond & Cie, The singing bird and musical movements by Jacob Frisard (1753-1812), The portrait miniature attributed to Daniel Saint (1778-1847), - No. 4, with fusee movement driving spirally-milled cam stack providing continuous birdsong, shaped engraved plates with bevelled loafers and blued screws throughout, Frisard's inscription to spring plate as Frisard to chain wheel take-up drum and Jacob Frisard to chain wheel top plate, the repairer's inscription as Edmond Droz, mail 50, Neuchatel, Suisse, VII 1962, with stop lever in polished steel, the separate barillet musical movement for manually actuated single air, playing The Shepherd and the Clouds, with eight-tooth stack of polished steel, finely pinned cylinder to plain brass bedplate, fitted within the bird movement housing to chain arbour, the bird with close detail banded and layered feathered plumage in hues of electric blue, deep black, lime green, turquoise and white-tip highlights, the iridescent highlights in subtle orange and dark green to wings and front, when actuated, moving body, head, ivory beak, wings and tailfeather to continuous birdsong, rising through finely chased solid gilt grille with bird profile and radial decorated border fret, blued screws, the lid interior of highly polished gold, lid-lock feature with hoop catch to front-right, the case of very early proportions in wide aspect, the bird lid with exceptionally detailed painted shoulder-length enamel study of Charles X, in interior with green pleated silk hanging drapes, he is seated in full uniform and wearing the Order of the Three Golden Fleece, the Order of the Holy Ghost and the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, complete with lapel ribbons and shoulder tassel caps, framed with a single rondo of 37 split-seed pearls each with petit-baulle claws, the main top with deep cobalt blue enamel, engine turned and tooled diamond matrix with stylised clover-leaf centres and black line detail, the whole finished with an undertone ground of multi-wave lines, repeated to all sides and underside, edge frame with further leaf frieze wrapped with intermittant ribbon twists and fleur-de-lys corners, front edge with frieze of arcs and scrolls in black, white and clipper blue enamels repeated to underside framework, sides with fine white and blue enamels highlighting duet baulle and wand friezes, the rear panel with dual friezes of drape pairs in repeating clipper blue enamel, the corners with floral urns on black enamel ground, main lid opening to reveal bird lid mounting and movement cover in cat's-eye engraved ground, flanked by compartment top panels of closely-detailed work of diamond and cross tooling, male winding stem for bird movement and full hallmarks for maker and export, the compartments at opposing ends, with the left-hand side for the key, the right-hand side for access to musical movement winding stem and speed regulator control marked L and V, with both doors bearing the full maker's marks, start/stop button to front-right, with a non-period key -