Peter Lennertz, Violinist, a hand-operated automaton, wood, painted wood, plywood, wire, signed...

Peter Lennertz, Violinist, a hand-operated automaton, wood, painted wood, plywood, wire, signed and dated Peter Lennertz 2005, approx. 44.5cm high, 12cm wide, 13.5cm deep, together with three other hand-operated automata by the same artist, comprising: Executive Stress, plain and painted carved wood, brass, plastic, wire, signed and dated Peter Lennertz 2004, approx. 29cm high, 14cm wide, 15cm deep; Lady Acrobat, wood, plywood, carved and painted wood and plywood, brass, spring drive, signed and dated Peter Lennertz 2003, approx. 28.5cm high, 7.7cm wide, 12.5cm deep; and Snapping Fish, wood, coloured wood, brass, wire, beads, spring, signed and dated P. Lennertz 2001, approx. 19.5cm high, 27cm wide, 14cm deep (4)

Sir Nicholas Goodison noted:

Violinist: Peter Lennertzs automata are a combination of skilled wood-carving and ingenious wire-based movements. The wires in this case drive the playing arm and sway the head as the violinist puts all his passionate skill into the music.

Executive Stress: Driven by stress, the City drinker pours the bottle into the glass, raises the glass and empties it into his now gaping mouth stress over. The pouring arm, the drinking arm and the backward-tilting head are driven by separate cams and levers. Peter Lennertz has made many automata in wood with brass and wire lever and gear mechanisms, as in this case. He describes himself as a plumber by trade and fascinated with wood. He made jigsaws, mobiles, jumping jacks and various other things in his spare time before turning to automata after coming across Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in Covent Garden in the late 1980s. He was voted toy maker of the year 2007 by the British Toymakers Guild.

Lady Acrobat: The artists title for this automaton perhaps stretches the meaning of the term lady. She wears nothing except a pair of red shoes and does her gymnastics before the window which, like a painting by Winifred Nicholson, has a potted plant on the sill. The radiator no doubt keeps her warm. Her hands are fixed to the turning bar. Her legs are jointed and her head loosely mounted, so she swings well and with a clatter after her somersaults, which she can do forwards or backwards. She thinks her breasts are more provocative backwards. The pubic hair and blush tints on her buttocks perhaps add to the impression that this is no lady.

Snapping Fish: The fish looks innocent, like many browsing tropical fish, swimming lazily with its tails waggling, but when it wants to snap a passing lunch it opens its jaws to reveal some forbidding teeth and then snaps its mouth shut, presumably successful. The jaw is opened by a lever attached raised by a cam and the spring ensures a good snap when the cam releases the lever.

Provenance:

Violinist, Executive Stress and Lady Acrobat: Purchased, Peter Lennertz, British Toymakers Guild exhibition, Oxo Tower, November 2005.

Snapping Fish: Purchased, Peter Lennertz, at British Toymakers Guild Fair, London, November 2001.

Roseberys do not guarantee the working order of any automata or toy.