French Automaton "L'Homme Serpent" by Michel Bertrand with Vichy Lineage

Live Auction

34" (86 cm.) length of base. 24" acrobat. 39" overall. Set atop a stepped stage platform with velvet-covered round wooden pedestal table is an crobatic contortionist,having painted staff/composition head,blue glass paperweight eyes,flocked brown hair,and open mouth exposing his teeth. He is dressed in a satin clown costume with black stockings and satin shoes. The table is rested upon a large platform with five steps on either side. Movements and Music. He lies on his stomach upon the table which swivels as he makes a scissor movement with his legs while nodding his head. He then raises his legs. The table swivels again. He raises his head,lifts his stomach off the table and arches his back in an amazing contortionist manner,with his legs raised high. He repeats the scissor movement before lowering himself back onto the table and scissoring his legs once more in the horizontal position. The mechanism is quite ingenious; the man's uniquely partitioned body consists of sections,each occupied by a wood block,and the blocks are interconnected by multiple hinges,thence by strung linkages that pass through his left shoulder/arm/hand and down the table into the base where the cams actuate the movements. The performance is deft,smooth,subtle,and lasting for quite a long cycle. Accordingly,there are six musical tunes. Inspired by the original Vichy model #622,this model was created by Michel Bertrand of Switzerland,successor to the original Vichy firm,using some original Vichy/Triboulet parts from the original Paris workshop,including the man's finely sculpted head with original paint,the torso mechanism,and a six-tune musical movement. Completed in 1990,commissioned by the Steinbaum's,Michel Bertrand's signature is inside the base.