Five Birds with Pond and Waterfall

Live Auction

Arranged upon an ebony-finished wooden base is a garden like setting with moss-covered hillocks scattered with delicate flowers and ferns,a large tree with branches and leaves,and a pond with waterfall and stream that meanders into a small cave. A porcelain-faced clock signed Dugan _ Paris is set into one hillock. There are five feathered birds arranged throughout. Movements: five birds move,flitting from branch to branch,opening and closing beaks; one bird is drinking from the pond. The "waterfall" and stream have spiral glass twists that turn to create an illusion of movement. The birds create a "gui-gui" chirping,and there is music which is unusual to find when chirping is present. Blaise Bontems,France,circa 1880. 30" (76 cm) no dome. Two tunes. Exhibits: Bagatelle,Paris,1993.