$18,800
Rare Automaton of a Shrinking Magician by Renou, probably modeled as the Hatter from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , with papier-mâché character head, brown glass eyes, prominent nose, open smiling mouth, curly brown lambskin wig, and bisque hands holding lorgnettes and wand (or club), standing behind a draped table with teapot, on velvet-covered base containing the going-barrel movement playing one air, in original printed satin waistcoat, cravat, rose satin jacket and iridesent gold silk breeches, ht. lowered 19 in., extended 21 in., (teapot repainted, base re-covered in old material). Note: The magician waves his wand, raises the lorgnettes in his right hand, nods and peers over the lenses at the teapot. As though his vision is playing tricks on him, he slowly grows two inches in height (through pulleys in the legs), his head rises from his collar and he lowers his lorgnettes in amazement as the lid of the teapot lifts to reveal the nose and ears of a mouse. The mouse descends, the magician shrinks back to his normal height and the sequence begins again, six movements. The unusual modeling of the head and the curious costume suggest that the character of The Hatter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, published in 1865, may have been the inspiration for this automaton. The story of Alice's travels in a world of reversed logic, anthropomorphic creatures and characters who change size seemingly at will would have amused an automaton maker like Renou, w
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2006-07-29
