Automata

The greatest thinkers and artisans of the Renaissance had an unshakable confidence in the capacity of man to understand and manipulate the natural world. A handful of mavericks even attempted to replicate the processes of life through machines known as automata.


Among the earliest documented examples were machines made to amuse or pay tribute to powerful leaders of the day. Maximilian I was supposedly greeted by a mechanical eagle – the work of the astronomer Johannes Müller – on his arrival at Nuremberg in 1470. Leonardo da Vinci designed a lion for Louis XII, and the clockmaker Gianello della Torre made a number of walking and singing machines to divert and delight Charles V. Perhaps the most remarkable automaton ever made was Jacques de Vaucanson’s Canard Digérateur, or ‘Digesting Duck’. It does not survive, but contemporary accounts tell of a mechanical fowl that could eat, digest and excrete grain. The creature’s wings alone contained around 800 moving parts, and it amazed audiences throughout 18th century Europe.

The golden age of automata came in the 19th century, fuelled by industrial development and public appetite for novelty. Technological advances led to a significant reduction in the cost of constructing mechanical toys and they were mass-produced for the first time. Manufacturers produced many variations including musicians, circus performers, donkey carts and caged birds that exhibited all manner of ingenious movements. Many of the finest workshops were clustered in the Marais district of Paris, often using parts sourced from renowned French toy makers such as Jumeau. Alexandre Theroude, Leopold Lambert and Gustave Vichy were among the finest exponents of their craft and automata bearing these names invariably command large sums today.

Collectors will pay very high prices for the best examples, particularly if they are in good working order. Automata can be very expensive to restore, due to the degree of expertise and amount of time required to make and fit the tiny cogs, wheels and springs that drive their mechanisms. Specimens with unusual or amusing movements will often command a premium, as will automata dressed in particularly fine clothes or larger pieces composed of many interacting figures. Prices range from around £200 for a mass-produced European or American piece from the early 20th century to upwards of £2,000 for a more complex Victorian example, especially one capable of raising a smile. Rare automata dating from the 18th century or earlier appear on the market infrequently and can realize £10,000 or more.

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'Automata and Mechanical Toys', by Rodney Peppe, published by The Crowood Press Ltd.