Standing upon a green velvet platform is a bisque-head doll with portrait like expression, blue glass paperweight eyes, aquiline nose, open mouth with slightly parted lips and porcelain teeth, blonde mohair wig, separate bisque shoulderplate with slightly modeled bosom, carton torso and legs, bisque forearms. The lady wears a red and ivory silk Watteau costume with soutache embroidery, matching red silk hat and shoes, and carries a butterfly net in her right hand. A brown butter pot is attached to her torso by a metal rod, although appearing to be held in her left hand, and inside the pot is a paper mache wolf with black fur and a double row of ferocious teeth. Movements: she turns her head from side to side while raising her right arm as though to catch a butterfly; then she nods toward the pot just as the wolf peeks out from under the lid; the wolf moves his jaw open and closed. The automaton appeared in the Roullet et Decamps catalog as Chaperon Rouge in two variations, a small standard size model costing 35 FRANCS, and this luxury edition, model #202 at 95 FRANCS, nearly three times the cost of the standard model, and an indication of its rarity today. The classic fairy tale was popular in France and an example of the use of traditional stories and legends in the schemata of automata. Roullet & Decamps, France. Circa 1890. 25" (68 cm). Five movements. Two tunes.