$4,994
All Original Roullet et Decamps Automaton of a Chef d'Orchestre, with unmarked Jumeau bisque impressed E , closed mouth, fixed brown paperweight eyes, feathered brows, pierced ears, blonde mohair wig over cork pate, and bisque hands holding music-stand and baton, on velvet-covered base containing the going-barrel movement playing one air and causing the figure to turn his head left and right, while moving his baton alternately up and down, and from side to side in time to the music, in original satin dress shirt, bowtie and waistcoat, peach satin tailcoat with boutonniere, and black breeches, ht. 15 1/2 in. Literature: Bailly, Automata, The Golden Age, 1848 - 1914, p. 316. No. 319 in the Roullet et Decamps catalogue. Although appearing in Roullet et Decamps' catalogue, the Chef d'Orchestre was apparently produced in small numbers. Another example can be seen in the Museum für Musikautomaten, Seewen, Switzerland, and is illustrated on p. 19 of their recent exhibition catalogue.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2007-03-24
