Maurice Sandoz, a mid-20th-century writer and composer, applied his keen eye and very deep pockets to amass a collection of exceedingly rare timepieces and objets d’art. One such piece is an early-19th-century enameled and jeweled double-barrel pistol that releases a singing bird and a whiff of perfume when the trigger is pulled. The pistol by Frères Rochat, several Fabergé creations including the Imperial Swan Egg and dozens of other mechanical masterpieces from the collection of the Edouard and Maurice Sandoz Foundation are on display at Mechanical Wonders: Antique Automatons and Contemporary Watchmaking through November 26 at A La Vieille Russie, a New York City antiques dealer.
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