A very attractive and beautiful sounding antique cylinder music box made by the firm of George Bendon of Geneva, Switzerland in c. 1880. 

The musical movement features 6 engraved bells aligned in a rack formation with a gorgeous array of strikers: four birds distributed to either end, and then two colouful enamel bee strikers in the centre. 

This charming arrangement forms a nice complement to the jolly sound of this music box, which plays a selection of 12 operatic and popular tunes, including Aida, Rigoletto, La Norma and Don Pasquale, as well as The Yeoman’s Wedding and Coming Through the Rye. These are all detailed on the original George Bendon tunesheet. 

The case is veneered in rosewood with inlaid cartouches to both the lid and the front, together with kingwood crossbanding and boxwood stringing. It has a lovely sound and makes for a highly enjoyable and pleasant antique music box.