Attributed to Xavier Therin, Paris, a fine, large, third quarter 19th century musical picture frame clock, the watercolor and gouache on lithograph rural scene featuring homes, a church and a mill on the banks of a waterway with various floating vessels, behind the church a forest, and on the opposite side three windmills on the hills above the water, the foreground with a stone bridge and much of the automata, including two women at the waters edge beating laundry, a woman nodding her head, a diving duck, a goat and a ewe, their heads with quick, short movements as if grazing, a cow with nodding head, a couple fishing from a rocking boat, three turning windmills, a water wheel, and high overhead a hot air balloon traverses the sky, the scene within an ornate gilt frame with composition ornament and glass with painted black mat, the church tower with clock having a roman numeral white enamel dial and blued steel hands, the box behind the scene containing a 15 day, two train movement with square plates, pulleys and lines for driving the automata, and a small, three air cylinder music box, the interior also with a printed instruction sheet, and a small rectangular label listing the tunes

frame restored and with a few very minor losses to surface, minor, localized lifting of black paint on glass, the scene very good and without significant fading or losses, some very small surface spots, smudge in the sky between church tower and forest, one washerwoman with cracks to surface from the waist up, tower with slight bulge at clock dial, sides of box containing mechanism with minor paint loss, movement running and striking, pendulum rod and bob replaced, music box plays a bit fast, but plays well. The scene is very busy, having thirteen different movements - of the examples of Therin's work that we are aware of, none have a greater number of moving figures and objects. Youtube video of music and automation available at https://youtu.be/QXEH5NwmxDs, ACCESSORIES: Pendulum Rod, Pendulum Bob, Winding Key, circa 1870

9.5 x 43 x 33 in