#maillardet

19th Century Automatons: Mechanical "Ethiopian" Caterpillar

Gold and enamel, set with diamond, emerald, and pearl Workshop of Piguet et Capt, Geneva, circa 1805. Retailed by Maillardet.

BODY is made up of 11 graduated segments, the top of each of translucent scarlet enamel with black and yellow accents over flinqué set with diamonds, each segment terminated by a row of split pearls, the underside in black champlevé enamel with a gold pattern, the head decorated with black champlevé enamel and green emerald eyes.

MOVEMENT is brass, shaped, with fixed barrel, the 5-wheel train terminating with 2-arm fly governor. A cam fixed to the extension of the second wheel moves two levers up and down, resulting in a very realistic crawling motion, small knurled steel wheels running via contrate wheel meshing with the second wheel pinion, make the caterpillar move forward.

C is for CATERPILLAR AUTOMATON

By Gerri Ryan

'C' in the 'VINTAGE ROBOTS' themed alphabet

This dazzling jewel-encrusted robotic caterpillar was made in 1820 by Swiss watchmaker Henri Maillardet. It crawls realistically, simulating the up and down movements of a caterpillar.It sold at Sotheby's Auction in Geneva in 2010 for $415,000.    Click here to see the original in action..its pretty cool!!          

The Mechanical Caterpillar