$20,000
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Description
23" (58 cm.) An exceptionally handsome couple, the Marquise and Marquis, are posed as for a formal dance, he with bisque head, brown glass eyes, closed mouth, brunette mohair wig, carton body, legs and hands, and wearing original ivory silk court costume with elaborate soutache embroidery and silk-covered buttons; and she with bisque swivel head on bisque shoulder plate, blue glass eyes, closed mouth, blonde mohair wig, carton upper torso, bisque lower arms, and wearing luxurious silk gown and with metal cone-shaped base under the skirt that contains the clockwork mechanism. The man and woman are attached by a rod from torso to torso; she has small gliding wheels on bottom of her base, and he is slightly lifted from the floor so he will glide easily on her support. When wound, music plays and the couple glides and twirls in an elegant waltz-like fashion. Condition: generally excellent, music and movements function well. Marks: G.Vichy Paris (metal plaque on cone). Comments: Gustav Vichy, circa 1880. The waltzing couple automaton had been made for several decades before this model appeared, most particularly by Theroude about 1850, using dolls with paper mache heads. Value Points: rare grand size of the elegant couple with realistic waltzing movements, achieved by the clever notion of hiding the mechanism under the woman's skirt. The automaton was always presented as a luxury salon object, especially in this very rare grand size.