Adorable and Therapeutic Musical Clown Automaton Figure Toy French

A fine quality therapeutic musical automaton clown toy in wonderful vintage condition. Features porcelain head, hands and feet. Made in France during the ...

A fine quality therapeutic musical automaton clown toy in wonderful vintage condition. Features porcelain head, hands and feet. Made in France during the 195...

A fine quality and delightfully heavy sculpted iron motoring trophy car. Automobile depicted is circa 1920s. Collectible and Commemorative of the ‘Rally U.C.O.L. Challenge - Driver...

Great collectible. Meccano, this great system of construction, born at the beginning of the 20th century. Toy store display, circa 1927. This is a very cool...

A beautiful natural specimen. Turbo marmoratus is a large species of marine gastropod with a calcareous operculum in the family turbinidae. The color pattern is green, marble with w...

A beautiful natural specimen, Charonia is a genus of very large sea snail, commonly known as Triton's trumpet or Triton snail. They are marine gastropod moll...

One of the most amazing timepieces we have ever acquired that offers far more than meets the eye, this incredible work of art blends the beauty of a painting with the mechanical complexities of both a cylinder music box and an automaton. While it is clear to see the integrated clock residing within the arched giltwood and gesso frame, when activated, this painting quite literally comes alive. As the cylinder mechanism within plays its lovely tune, every character in the farrier's shop becomes animated – from the group of farrier's toiling away at the forge and anvil forming the horseshoes, to the wagging of the charming terrier's tale. This musical automaton picture clock is attributed to Xavier Tharin of Paris who was the preeminent creator of this fantastical "moving pictures", especially this particular farrier scene. His process mixed oil painting and hand-colored lithograph images that were layered starting from the back, middle and foreground to craft the complex series of movements throughout the painting. A look inside this particular work reveals the complex mechanism (with the three gongs, pendulum and cylinder components immediately visible) which must run the timepiece, the cylinder musical component plus the multitude of moving elements in the painting...a truly incredible feat considering the technical prowess to create just one of these devices. Musical picture clocks...

Therapeutic toy magic horse in orange jute with black leather detailing. Designed and made by Renate Müller, Germany, 2015.

This fine, antique mantel clock is constructed in ebonised wood by the renowned Parisian maker of automata, Xavier Tharin (French, active mid 19th Century). The clock face is set onto a curled, stylized pediment atop the clock case. The face is of white enamel, featuring black Roman numerals and signed 'Tharin a Paris', and is bordered in beaded ormolu. The pediment in which the face is set is decorated with ormolu mounts of stylized acanthus leaf form. The pediment is set onto a rectangular frame of ebonised wood, inside which is set a musical automaton...

Beautifully rendered ceramic figure of man with musical grinding box and monkey. The detail and execution of this ceramic piece, made by hand is outstanding. The figure renders detai...

A delightful later 19th century toy horse constructed from painted metal. A charming accent piece for any living area.

ABOUT An early 20th century French elephant pull-toy covered in fabric with glass eyes mounted on a steel platform with steel and rubber wheels. CREATOR Unknown. Made in Franc...