Passed
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Description
26" (66 cm.) Arranged upon a green velvet-covered wooden base is a singing master,posed with baton before an ebony wooden music stand and his female singer who is poised,ready for her performance. He has paper-mache head,brown glass eyes,articulated eyelids,hinged jaw,fleecy brown mohair wig,mohair moustache and is wearing a black satin tailcoat with blue lining,embroidered waistcoat,gold silk breeches and gilt fob. She has a bisque portrait-like head,bisque shoulder plate,blue glass paperweight eyes,closed mouth,pierced ears,blonde mohair wig,and is wearing a lovely silk gown and having silk flower coronet. Movement and Music. The persons move independently and yet in synchronic action to each other. The singing master takes charge,turning from side-to-side,and inclining his head as though to read the sheet music. Keeping time with the baton in his right hand,he directs the singer with his left,while blinking and moving his mouth as though to encourage the singer. All the while,she turns from side-to-side,then raises the book of sheet music she is holding,and leans backward as though ready to raise her voice in song. The realism is enhance by double articulation of each arm and 12 different animations provided by 8 cams and large 2-airs cylinder movement. Leopold Lambert,circa 1890,likely created under special commission. The luxury automaton-vignette appears to be a companion to Lambert's "The Conversation" (Monaco Museum) in which the same paper-mache gentleman and his lovely bisque-headed lady companion are seated together on a bench. No other examples of "The Singing Lesson" are known to exist.