Rare Musical Desk Garniture with Transitional Movement, c. 1820

Austria, no. 462, with 'cartière' cylinder movement playing two airs ("Nel cor piu" by Paisiello and "Freut euch des Lebens" by Nägeli), vertical open-spring motor, sectional comb in 17 groups of 3 teeth (complete), four-wheeled governor-train, mahogany platform base with gilt-brass fittings and two pressed glass bottles (a few minor chips) with stoppers, one for ink, the other powder, ht. 7 x wd. 6 ½ x dp. 3 in. (18 x 16 x 7,5 cm), cylinder 2 1/8 in. (5,5 cm), movement in excellent restored playing condition, garniture and movement well-matched but probably not originally together. With key. - Literature: Luuk Goldhoorn, "An Austrian Musical Inkwell", in: "Mechanical Music" (MBSI), vol. 60, no. 5, p. 27. - The movement offered here represents a rare transition between the small tabatière (snuff box-type) mechanism and the larger cartel - or, as Goldhoorn notes in his article: "small enough to be a tabatière … but (with) the spring housing mounted vertically on the baseplate." - An early and elegant musical box for the well-appointed desk.

布雷克拍品等级是为了方便竞买人判断拍卖品的成色而设置的。布雷克等级用1到6级来标注外观和功能的成色，(从非常好到非常差)。 在目录图册里用括号里的2个数字来表示，前一个数字表示外观成色的级别，后一个数字表示功能成色的级别。如(3/2)表示外观成色是3(满意的)，功能成色2(好)。 成色 定义参照下列标准： 1 - 非常好 (未使用过，没有使用痕迹) 2 - 好 (新，极少的使用痕迹) 3 - 满意的 (普通的使用痕迹) 4 - 及格的 (明显的使用痕迹，某个非主要部件是后配的) 5 - 有缺陷的 (极明显的使用痕迹, 某个主要部件是后配的，功能上有缺陷，需要修理) 6 - 非常差 (严重破损, 缺少重要部件)