Passed
Description
14" (36 cm.) Standing upon a tinplate-over-wooden-frame base with original painted finish to simulate ground-cover,is a lady with wax-over-paper-mache head,blue enamel eyes,closed mouth,painted features,original wig in elaborately arranged braids and curls and decorated with cascading pearls. She has a shapely carton torso and legs,and paper-mache hands whose fingers and wrists are sculpted to realistically pluck at mandolin strings. Wearing her original coral and ivory satin gown with matching bonnet and appliqued gilt paper and Alencon lace trim. Her original wooden mandolin has hand-painted decorations. Movements and Music. The lady glides forward,than turns to one side or the other,pauses,circles and glides again,all the while turning her head side-to-side and strumming the mandolin. The gliding movement occurs from three hidden brass wheels below the base. Theroude,Paris,circa 1850. There are two original brass labels on the base,"Theroude Paris" and "Brevete SGDG" indicating that Theroude had deposed his design.