James Stratton
Director
Lot 21*
A very rare mid 19th century French automata carriage clock with singing bird Pena
2 December 2025, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£8,000 - £12,000
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Lewis Walduck
Cataloguer
A very rare mid 19th century French automata carriage clock with singing bird
Pena
The case surmounted by a brass carrying handle over a rectangular observation window and a moulded top, the plain sides fitted with glazed observation panels revealing the elaborately decorated automaton scene within — a central singing bird surrounded by lush green and floral foliage, dancing and pecking the ground when activated. All set above a further moulded section with elaborately cast sides and additional observation windows, the whole raised on a richly decorated base adorned with bellflowers and foliate ornament. A winding square is set to the right-hand side for the singing bird mechanism housed within the lower section of the case. The 2.6-inch dial with finely engraved gilt mask enclosing an enamel centre with black Roman numerals and blued steel Breguet-style hands, signed to the centre Pena, with a separate Arabic alarm-setting dial to the lower section. The twin-train movement with a lever platform escapement, striking and repeating on a finely cast polished bell mounted to the backplate, the alarm operating on the same bell. Currently ticking, striking, repeating, and the singing bird working but the bellows not sounding. 33cms (13ins) high.
The case surmounted by a brass carrying handle over a rectangular observation window and a moulded top, the plain sides fitted with glazed observation panels revealing the elaborately decorated automaton scene within — a central singing bird surrounded by lush green and floral foliage, dancing and pecking the ground when activated. All set above a further moulded section with elaborately cast sides and additional observation windows, the whole raised on a richly decorated base adorned with bellflowers and foliate ornament. A winding square is set to the right-hand side for the singing bird mechanism housed within the lower section of the case. The 2.6-inch dial with finely engraved gilt mask enclosing an enamel centre with black Roman numerals and blued steel Breguet-style hands, signed to the centre Pena, with a separate Arabic alarm-setting dial to the lower section. The twin-train movement with a lever platform escapement, striking and repeating on a finely cast polished bell mounted to the backplate, the alarm operating on the same bell. Currently ticking, striking, repeating, and the singing bird working but the bellows not sounding. 33cms (13ins) high.