Sci/Tech, Mechanical Music & Dolls
Description:
Gustave Vichy Automaton of a Sewing Lady, with papier-mache head, brown eyes with articulated lids and down lashes, open smiling mouth with painted teeth, pierced ears with earrings, and long brown mohair wig held in a bun, sitting with one leg resting on the other on a turned cane-seated chair, embroidery in her right hand and needle and silk in her left, the going-barrel movement in the body playing two airs and causing the figure to turn and then incline her head in concentration, raise the embroidery in her right hand and move the needle with two sideways movements of the left, while her eyelids flutter and her breasts rise and fall to simulate breathing, in period changeable-taffeta costume with lace bodice, choker and wing-collar spreading to full-skirt, ht. 25 in. , with pierced Vichy key and acorn stop/start.
Note: One of a series of automata by Vichy depicting society ladies at work and play: attending the opera or the races, performing on the harpsichord, spinning or sewing. The same mold was used for the various figures and the movement concealed in the torso, which is articulated to give the illusion of breathing.
Estimate $8,000-12,000