Page 193 - Auction Team Breker | Wissenschaft & Technik, Büro-Antik, Spielzeug | 30. Mai 2015

Musical Automaton Gymnast by Vichy-Triboulet, c. 1910
With plaster-composition head, fixed brown glass eyes, open smiling mouth with two rows of modeled teeth, curly mohair wig, shapely papier-mâché body, two painted wood chairs and wood base containing large going-barrel motor driving five cams and four-air cartel cylinder movement, dressed in elaborate gold silk circus costume trimmed with glass beads and sequins, ht. standing 35 in. (89 cm), base 13 1⁄4 x 19 1⁄2 x 8 1⁄4 in. ht. (34 x 50 x 21 cm), face repainted. The automaton was substantially restored during the early 1990s. Re- built/replacement elements include the motor, musical movement, parts of the base and the figure's right hand. – The performance begins with the gymnast standing between the two chairs. He raises the chair in his right hand and flexes his wrist, then lowers the chair and elevates his body into a handstand position. In mid-air he raises the chair a second time, flexes his wrist, low- ers his head and then lowers his body slowly back to a standing position. The gymnast looks up as if for ap- plause and, as the conclusion to his performance, raises his right arm again – this time without the chair! – Provenance: Sotheby's, London, 10th November 1995, lot 220. Christie's South Kensington, 3 May 2006, lot 201. – Literature: Mary Hillier, "Automata & Mechani- cal Toys", p. 100 for similar piece. – A celebrated Vichy design of great ingenuity, the trick of lifting and lower- ing a free-standing object was an accomplished feat for an automaton of the early 20th century. The head – a rare model – is usually found on the Vichy "Clown Ser- pent" automaton, illustrated on p. 94 of "Automata, the Golden Age" by Christian Bailly. An impressive per- former with great 'stage presence'!
– (3/3) – € 20.000/34.000 – (300/8)
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614: Seltener Musik-Puppenautomat von Edouard Henry Phalibois, um 1895 € 7.000,-
Lebensechte Darstellung eines Richters bei seinem Urteilsspruch, Kopf aus Papiermaché, braune Glasau- gen, Mund und Lider beweglich, mit eingesetzten Zäh- nen und Zunge, Perücke und Bart aus weißem Mohair, Nickelbrille, in hermelinbesetzter Seidenrobe, Höhe 74 cm. Federwerkmechanik mit 7 Nockenscheiben und Walzenspielwerk mit 3 Melodien befinden sich hinter dem Podest. Farbe restauriert, Podest eventuell ersetzt. Ein großer Automat mit vielen Bewegungen. – Die Puppe schaut sich um, zwinkert, hebt ein Dokument hoch und senkt gleichzeitig den Kopf, um dieses zu lesen, ihre rechte Hand schwebt über das Blatt und schlägt dann demonstrativ darauf, gleichzeitig bewegt sich ihr Mund, als würde ein bedeutendes Urteil gefällt. – Exzellent funktionierender Zustand! – Literatur: Ähnliche Automaten sind abgebildet in: Chapuis & Dros, "Automata, An Historical and Technical Study", S. 337; Bailly, "Automata, the Golden Age", S. 167; Uhlig-Katalog, Reproduktion in Bowers, "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments", S. 78.