Gustave Vichy musical automaton Marchand de Fruits (The Fruit Seller) from c.1885, estimated at €25,000-30,000 in the Auction Team Breker May 20 sale.
It is his 2ft 2in (65cm) high musical automaton Marchand de Fruits (The Fruit Seller) from c.1885.
When the mechanism is released the fruit seller, who is dressed in an elegant silk costume, moves his head and blinks his eyes. One after the other the three apples on his tray open up to reveal their rather surprising contents.
The first, rather bizarrely, is a monkey’s head, which moves its mouth and eyebrows; next come the miniature figures of a dancing couple who swirl around to the sound of the music; and they are followed by a white mouse seemingly running in a circle. The estimate is €25,000-30,000.
