07-29-200607-29-2006
Skinner Auctions
Skinner AuctionsBoston MA
2345Boston
July 29, 2006 10:00 AMCalender
599

Roullet et Decamps Automaton of the Dancer Loie Fuller

Sell one like this
$47,000$40,000
Auction: Clocks, Watches & Scientific Instruments - 2345Location: BostonDate / Time: July 29, 2006 10:00AM

Description:

Roullet et Decamps Automaton of the Dancer Loie Fuller, with bisque socket head impressed 2, closed mouth, fixed brown feathered eyes, pierced ears, chestnut hair wig, bisque shoulder plate and forearms, dancing on the tip of a papier-mâché moon with articulated eye and darting tongue, the going-barrel movement playing two waltzes (on one revolution) and causing Loie to pirouette on her right leg, balancing with her left, bending at the waist and turning her head, while the moon rolls his eye and sticks out his tongue, sometimes to her face and sometimes behind her back, in pale pink silk costume decorated with flowers and glass beads, lace underskirt and Eau de Nil satin slippers, ht. 24 in., (professionally restored overall).

Note: Inspired by the American dancer Marie Louise (Loie) Fuller, this piece was a combination of the fin de siecle interest in dance, movement and the moon that particularly attracted French automata makers. The three major late 19th century Parisian makers, Gustave and Henri Vichy, Roullet et Decamps, and Leopold Lambert, all produced their own versions of the moon theme, and all three also pursued their own interpretation of the graceful dancer. Born in the Chicago suburb of Fullersburg, Illinois, in 1862, Loie began her career as a child actress and later choreographed and performed her own dances in burlesque and circus shows. She was well-known in Europe for her floating silk costumes and dramatic theatrical lighting techniques, particularly in Paris where she was a regular performer at the Folies Bergeres, with acts such as the Fire Dance and Salome. Although Roullet et Decamps catalogues advertised automata based on celebrities of the day, for example Little Titch, or Paula and Nala Damajanti imortalized as the Snake Charmer, these portrait pieces seem to have been produced in very limited quantities, and possibly only on commission.

Literature: Bailly, Automata, the Golden Age, p. 309 for the maker's catalogue description of this piece.
Estimate $18,000-20,000

Keywords

Marie Louise (Loie) Fuller, bisque socket head , graceful dancer , Gustave, Henri Vichy, Leopold Lambert, Chicago, Fullersburg, child actress , Paris, Nala Damajanti, Paula Damajanti