Potter & Potter Auctions
Live Auction

Automata: Life & Other Illusions

Sun, Jul 21, 2019 09:30PM EDT
Lot 54

A 24-Bloom Rose Bush Automaton.

Estimate: $3,500 - $4,500

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$30 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $200
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000
A 24-Bloom Rose Bush Automaton. England: Granville Taylor (Faust), ca. 2010. Largest model of this automaton device, being an all-brass faux rose bush resting in a handsome wooden pot that slowly blooms real roses on command, which may then be cut from the plant and presented to the spectators as keepsakes of the performance. Wind-up clockwork mechanism concealed in the hardwood pot fabricated from a modified brass gramophone motor. A few leaves bent and with minor chips to finish, but overall, very good working condition. Height 49? With wooden ?scrimmed? packing case. Two hand-made modern versions of the venerable Petrie & Lewis ?Flowering Rose Bush? of the 1930s and 40s, and one of but a handful manufactured by illusionist Granville Taylor from a design of his own conception. VIEW VIDEO