Rare Musical
»Cochon en Promenade« Automaton by Decamps, c. 1912
With plaster-composition character head and trotters, glass eyes, articulated ears and snout, on velvet-covered base that contains going-barrel motor playing single air as the pig turns his head, sniffs the air, lifts his ears, waves politely with his left trotter and appears to twirl his striped umbrella with his right, elegantly dressed in figured waistcoat, wing-collared shirt, silk tie and original checked velvet jacket, height 21 ¾ in. (55 cm).The promenading pig was one of several mechanical toys pictured in Hamley's Christmas advert of 1900. It also appeared as No. 401 in Decamps' 1911. –
Pigs were a popular motif for French automata makers but this gentlemanly model by Decamps is the only
example of its kind that we have seen to date. A rare and humorous automaton.
Estimate: € 9,000/12,000
US$ 12,300/16,400
Reserve: € 7,500/US$ 10,280
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