10 detail
10. Extremely Rare French Pistolet a Oiseau Chanteur by Bontems 9� (23 cm.) A very heavy cast brass and bronze pistol with fauxleather grip cover ornamented by elaborate cast brass floral and garland appliques disguises a very special secret. When wound, and trigger pulled, a beautiful feathered bird emerges. The original key is included as well as a brass perch upon which the pistol rests for
display. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: Bontems, circa 1900, the imaginative and creative designs of Lucien Bontems are evident, not only in the more classic bird cages, but also in decorative works such as the jardiniere shown 10 detail in the previous page, and in this extraordinary statement work, the Pistolet a Oiseau Chanteur (the singing bird pistol). The 2001 book, Flights of Fancy, by Sharon and Christian Bailly, note that two examples were sold to the Geneva firms of Bremond and S. Troll in 1905; the Bremond pistolet a oiseau chanteur was a cost of 400 francs. Value Points: extraordinary state of preservation, the mechanism functioning well, and the casework superb; only two other examples of this extremely rare piece are known to exist, one in Siegfried (Wendel) Mechanisches Musikkabinett in Ruedesheim, Germany and the other in the Kyoto Arishiyama Orgel Museum in Kyoto, Japan. $27,000/38,000 15