Rare Chinese Optical Transformation Toy, probably mid-19th Century
Comprising a pair of male and female watercolor portraits and twelve finely hand-painted mica overlays, six for each sex, with variations in costume, occupation (including archer and warrior) and hairstyle, in silk-covered cases originally joined together by a ribbon, overlays approx. 2 5/8 x 3 7/8 in. (6,7 x 10 cm). Good overall condition, case missing ribbon, bright colors. Note: "Changements Inattendus", metamorphic or protean transformation sets are examples of early optical toys which demanded an act of interpretation, a way of looking that searched for hidden images in every-day items. "Understanding such ways of seeing – the modes of human perception – opened the way to the 'philosophical toy', devices that played with the vagaries of visual capacity and conjured images" (quoted from Marina Warner in "Eyes, Lies and Illusions"). – There are several varieties of metamorphic toys: male and female figures, full and half-length portraits on paper and bone, overlays on paper and mica. The earliest recorded transformation toys in mica, a sheet silicate mineral, date from the mid-17th century. The Royal Collection of Great Britain possesses an early mica transformation set believed to represent Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I. In March 2011 Auction Team Breker sold a similar set depicting Queen Christina of Sweden. Due to the fragile nature of mica, few European transformation sets – and even fewer from Asia – are known to have survived. A rare and fascinating optical toy. – Literature: https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/422348/set-of-mica-overlays-and-miniature-of-henrietta-maria-1609-1669; Auction Team Breker, 26 March 2011, Lot 407; Laurent Mannoni et al., "Eyes, Lies and Illusions", exhibition catalog (2004), pp. 113, 218–19.

Seltenes chinesisches optisches Verwandlungsspielzeug, vermutlich Mitte 19. Jh.
Je ein männliches und weibliches Verwandlungsbild, Wasserfarbe auf Karton, in mit Seide überzogenem Etui, ehemals mit Bändern als Scharnier (nicht mehr vorhanden), dazu 12 auf Glimmer handgemalte Auflagen, 6 für jedes Geschlecht, mit verschiedener Kleidung und Haarstilen, außerdem Darstellung unterschiedlicher Berufe, Maße der Auflagen 6,7 x 10 cm. – Brillante Farben, guter Zustand.

Start Price: EUR 3400





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by Auction Team Breker
May 21, 2016 10:00 AM CEST
Otto-Hahn-Str. 10
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