![]() ![]() ![]() Of great interest was the automata shown in the Popular Culture section, including Buffalo Bill, whose Wild West Show barnstormed Paris for several years in the 1890s. The auction catalog, titled Music, Motion and Fancy, and whose hologram cover gave an illusion of mechanical movement, was divided into chapters emphasizing recurring themes of automaton makers. Her music and movement just add to the presentation and make her breathtaking.” “My doll collection is focused on elegant lady dolls arranged in scenes with antique miniature furniture, and the harpist is not only elegant, but she’s already posed with an exquisite miniature harp. “I came to the auction to buy this piece,” she said. A spectacular Grecian Lady Standing at a Harp was a showstopper, in appearance, intricate movements and music, topping at $50,000, where she will be performing in the home of a doll collector. She strummed all the way, in fact, to $36,000 and will be performing as a centerpiece of a private European collection. ![]() There was a superb kneeling Egyptian Harpist who blinked her eyes, breathed and turned her head, while her right arm moved laterally with bending wrists as though “plucking” the strings, and her left arm rose and lowered vertically in an arch to “strum” the celestial chords. An exceptional model of the Japanese Mask Seller, incredibly preserved with even her original paper fluted parasol and silk embroidered kimono, twirled her parasol all the way to $57,500 and will be moving to her new home in Connecticut.Īmong the French automata were, from left, Lady Reclining on Recamier, $34,000 Two Acrobats Performing in Gilded Wooden Case Clock, $23,000 Pierrot Writing, $42,000 Japanese Mask Seller, $57,500 and Kneeling Egyptian Lady Playing the Harp, $36,000. The clowns, wearing their original costumes from their 1910 production, were hammered down for $76,000 to a private collector in Arizona. Apparently performing their musical clown act in unison, the clowns are wonderfully synchronized until the happy clown teasingly turns out-of-step, kicking his fancy pointed shoe at his sad clown partner. Top price of the day was earned by a rare pair of “Clown Musicians on Stage” by Vichy/Triboulet inspired by the popular Jean Qui Rit and Jean Qui Pleure pair of laughing/crying clowns that were prominent figures of popular culture in Nineteenth Century France. ![]() I love adding them to a group of my traditional dolls because they bring animated life and sound to the scene.” And they have wonderful movements and music. As one noted, “These are, after all, dolls. Also in prominent attendance were doll collectors who have recently turned their attention to the field. The auction weekend began with a preview reception on Saturday evening attended by luminaries in the field who were greeted at the exhibition doors with a boisterous orchestration of music emanating from the fine pieces. Collectors vied internationally for these treasures, some so rare as to have been previously undocumented. The clowns, wearing their original costumes from their 1910 production, were hammered down for $76,000 to a private collector in Arizona.Īt Theriault’s November auction of fine automata highlighting the private collection of Jerry and Bunny Steinbaum of Beverly Hills, Calif., there were 23 singing birds, bears beating drums, acrobats performing feats of remarkable agility, clowns juggling balls on a stick, and even Pierrot sitting on a slice of the moon. Top price of the day was earned by this rare pair of “Clown Musicians on Stage†by Vichy/Triboulet. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |