$42,500
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Description
21"(53 cm.) A slender-bodied theatrical figure,Pierrot,is posed
seated on the bottom curve of a slice of the moon,holding a
mandolin in his arms,and seeming to serenade a dreamy-eyed
moon. Pierrot has paper-mache head with classic white
complexion,glass eyes and an open mouth in which is concealed
his tongue. A brunette wig peeks from beneath his felt cap and
he wears a rich costume of silks and velvet. The paper-mache
moon,with white complexion to match Pierrot,also has glass
eyes and an open mouth with hinged jaw,and is resting on a
sculpted bed of soft clouds. There are two tunes and five
animations: Pierrot strums the mandolin while turning his
head and periodically saucily sticks out his tongue at the moon;
the moon returns the flirtation by winking at Pierrot and
opening and closing its mouth as though singing along.
Condition: generally excellent,mechanisms and music function
well. Comments: Gustav Vichy,circa 1890,the model appeared in
the Vichy catalog under the title "Aubade a la lune",mode
434,and is considered a signature model of the Vichy firm and a
symbolic vignette of Parisian popular culture in the late 19th
century.