自动音乐玩偶"喝醉的厨房主管", Vichy制造, 约1885年

With papier-mâché head, articulated eyelids and jaw, original hand-tied mohair wig, metal hands holding a bottle of Madeira and a large copper pan, going-barrel movement in the body, velvet-covered base and tunesheet, in the original fragile cream satin chef's costume and hat, height 25 ½ in. (65 cm) (music faint, eyelids recovered), with Vichy key and "acorn" stop/start. Provenance: Ex-collection of Jerry Steinbaum. – Literature: Bailly, "Automata, the Golden Age", pp. 88, 246. – The chef looks from side to side, blinks, lifts the bottle to his lips and tilts back his head while his mouth moves as though drinking greedily. Meanwhile a white kitten in a red bow-tie emerges from the pot, sticks out its tongue and then descents before the chef has time to notice. – The subject may have been inspired by French nursery rhyme "La Mère Michel", which tells the story of the rascally chef Lustucru who cooks his neighbour's cat when she refuses him a reward for its return, offering him only a kiss instead. In Vichy's retelling of the story, the cat is decidedly more animated! – A classic automaton by Vichy in rare original costume.