$45,000
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sold
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Description
24" (61 cm.) 27" (69 cm.) Arranged upon a parquet inlay wooden floor is a wooden writing
desk and elegant salon chair with ebony finish in the Boulle style,. Seated at the chair is the
popular culture figure of Pierrot,a quill pen in his hand,and a brass oil lamp and parchment
letter on his table. Pierrot has a paper mache head with classic whitened complexion,brunette
fleecy curls under original black velvet cap,glass eyes,articulated kidskin eyelids,carton
body,and composition hands sculpted to appear as though holding a pen; he is wearing ivory
silk Pierrot costume (probably original) with red-pom-poms and classic pleated Pierrot
collar,and black slippers with red pom-poms. The movements are very dramatic,intricate,and
yet realistically achieved. When wound,music plays (two tunes). Pierrot holds a quill pen which
he moves across the parchments as if scribbling,at first hurriedly,and then slowly,as though
contemplating his wording,and then rapidly again. Then he pauses and drifts off to sleep,his
eyelids closing while simultaneously the lamplight dims down. After a pause,Pierrot wakes up
and,seeing that the lamp is no longer burning,stretches out his left hand (which has been
poised near his head as if reflecting upon the his writing) to turn up the wick. The light burns
brightly once again. He turns his head,blinks and begins to write again. The condition is
excellent,and all original,directly from a Paris estate,with wonderfully-functioning mechanism
and music. Made by Gustav Vichy,Paris,circa 1890,the automaton appeared in the Vichy
catalog as #518 entitled "Pierrot Ecrivain",with G.V. depose. The realism of the animation was
created by a very complicated set of cams in the mechanism which was concealed in his torso
with linkages passing into the table and controlling the movement of the wick. A luxury piece
in its own time,it is nigh impossible to locate an example today,especially in this wonderfully-
preserved and working state.