$5,500
Sold
sold
Click image to enlarge
Description
27" (69 cm.) A standing Papier-mche bear with
lush brown fur cover is posed upright on a
velvet-covered wooden platform,with black bead
eyes and carved wooden paws,nose and mouth,a
finely-tooled leather drum strap slung across his
chest,a drum attached to rods from his torso,and a
pair of wooden drumsticks in his hands. When
wound,he turns his head from side-to-side,then
nods,opens and closes his jaw,and beats the drums
in unison to the movements. Condition: generally
excellent,functions well. Comments:
Decamps,1900,the model was illustrated in the 1900
catalog of Decamps as model #315,a charming
mechanical representation of the real performing
bears that were then popular throughout Europe and
America. Value Points: very rarely found automata
whose original luxury price of 100
francs,underscored the quality workmanship and
grand size of the mechanical works and the artisan
quality of the leather works and drum. Few other
examples in this size are known to exist.