$36,000
Sold
sold
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Description
27" (69 cm.) Seated at a fine wooden desk arranged upon a wooden floor with parquet inlay design, is Pierrot, with paper mache head having classic whitened complexion, fleecy curls, glass eyes with kidskin eyelids, carton body and composition hands sculpted to appear as though holding a pen, wearing ivory silk Pierrot costume with red pom-poms, pleated collar, Pierrot hat, and pom-pom trimmed slippers, holding a quill pen in his hand. A lamp sits at the corner of the desk and an ink-script note rests below his hand. When wound, music plays (two tunes), and Pierrot moves the quill pen across the paper, as if adding further notes, then he pauses, the light turns off and and he appears to drift off to sleep. After a pause, he awakens, appears to turn the light back on, turns his head, blinks and begins to write again. Condition: structurally excellent and fresh, eyelid kid cover is worn, lamp lighting movement is batter activated, mechanism and music function well as described. Comments: Gustav Vichy, Paris, circa 1890, appearing in the original Vichy catalog as #518 titled "Pierrot Ecrivain" (Pierrot writing) and indicating that the piece was uniquely deposed by Vichy. Value Points: considered a prime luxury piece in its time, it is virtually impossible to find today, this example being sold from its original home in the Parisian 16th arrondissement, and bearing the original prestige shop label of "Nadaud" on the base.