A fine antique gilt metal singing bird box, by Raymy,

 

Circa 1910,

 

Raymy's reprise of the Bruguier pattern,

 

The tooled metal genius strikes again...

 

When wound and the start/stop slide is moved to the right, the bird emerges through the square tooled half-pierced gilt grille featuring roses, then proceeds to move bone beak, wings, tailfeather and body from side-to-side to continuous synchronised birdsong.

The bird with short-weave feathered plumage in dark green, pale blue, red and yellow, subtle green iridescent highlights, matt finished lid interior, in exceptionally well tooled Bruguier-pattern case with the indent shaped mitre-head corners, the bird lid top with a pair of love birds flying towards open rosehead in two-tone metal, the main lid and all sides with geometric framed tooled decoration with ribbon borders, further roseheads, before arrowtip frieze and plain polished rounded edge, continuing to sides with quadruple fan trumpets with flowering swags, reed fern corner columns and attractive ripple wave-line ground to underside with plain shaped crest to centre, hidden key compartment to rear.

 

3.3/4in wide, 2.1/ 2in. deep, 1.5/8in. high - (9.5 x 6.4 x 4.2cm)

 

Point of interest -

 

Tooling of metal is all about removal of material to achieve a visual point of interest, whether it be big or small.  Have a good look at the simple use of just four or five lines to the ribbon crest edge to the underside which make this part turn into three-dimensional wonder.  Less it seems, is most definitely a lot more.