Rare Monkey Pâtissier Musical Automaton by Roullet... Lot 1008

Rare Monkey Pâtissier Musical Automaton by Roullet et Decamps, c. 1885 With fur-covered papier-mâché head, amber glass eyes, articulated eyelids and upper lip, carved bone teeth, metal hands holding a large papier-mâché pie with hinged crust, torso containing single-air going-barrel movement that causes the simian pastry cook to turn and nod his head, lower his eyelids and curl his lip haughtily as he lifts the lid of his pie to reveal a wide-eyed white kitten looking from side to side and moving her mouth slightly as though trying to escape, dressed in plumb velvet breeches, chef's hat and very fragile cream silk jacket with gilt buttons and soutache trim, height 25 in. (63,5 cm), with steel key. - Provenance: Ex-Decamps family collection, Auction Team Breker, 16 November 2013, Lot 423. - Literature: Actual piece illustrated in Bailly, "Automata, the Golden Age", p. 128. Catalog illustration p. 288. - The chef and the cat was a popular theme in French automata, perhaps inspired by the 19th century nursery rhyme "C'est la Mère Michel". From the subject matter to its provenance, everything about this piece is extraordinary. The monkey's facial expressions add to the delicious sense of surprise once the ingredients of his pie are finally revealed. - A rare and surreal monkey automaton, humorously modeled and in good working condition! Seltener Musik-Puppenautomat "Der Affen-Konditor" von Roullet & Decamps, um 1885 Affe als Patissier, Kopf aus fellbezogenem Papiermaché, bernsteinfarbene Glasaugen, bewegliche Oberlippe und Augenlider, geschnitzte Zähne aus Bein, Metallhände, eine große Pastete mit klappbarer Kruste haltend. Bekleidet mit Kochmütze, brauner Kniebundhose aus Samt und cremefarbenem Samtjackett (alterungsbedingt fragil) mit Bordüren und vergoldeten Knöpfen. Auf samtbezogenem Sockel. Federwerkmotor, Mechanik und Walzenspielwerk für eine Melodie befinden sich im Korpus der Puppe. Gesamthöhe 63,5 cm. Mit Stahlschlüss