Exhibition-Quality Replica of 1750 Dutch Mechanical Optical Cabinet, by Ivan Roseman, with seven 18th century slides, lacquered-brass going-barrel movement of waisted-shield form with rotating shaft for animating the slides, signed Roseman, Cheltenham, 2002 and mounted on a tapering pillar, in oak proscenium with mahogany-veneered facade of pillars with giltwood capitals, pediment and alternating boxwood / ebony inlay, paper-lined interior with runners for mechanism and slides, slide panels on top and sides, side door and double doors at the rear, on dividing base with side door for storage space and tapering triangular feet, approx. 37 1/2 in. ht. x 12 1/2 in. Note: An exact replica of an important 18th century optical cabinet sold in London in 2002. The cabinet includes seven of the original 18th century 12 1/2-inch cut-paper and perforated slides in oak frames; a replica 11-inch diameter rotating disc of red, yellow and brown painted spirals, on wood mount for attaching to the movement with a brass collet; a replica cut and colored-paper slide of a balloon ascent; and two replica automaton slides of a painted windmill with turning sails and a cut-paper clock face with moving hands. A perforated slide of thick paper, mounted on a lightweight wooden frame, is placed in one of four runners behind the cabinet's proscenium. Behind the slide the clockwork mechanism rotates a translucent paper disc decorated with a spiraling pattern. On either side of the mechanism, a pair of candles in card trays would provide rear illumination for the disc. As the mechanism rotates, the spiral turns and the effect produced is similar to a firework display. After a suitable time, the cabinet's wooden 'curtain' is inserted, the slide changed for another, and the show continued with a different effect. The term 'artificial fireworks' (also known as Chinese fireworks) was given to these displays of twirling light effects. The term probably originated in the mid-17th century, and by the nineteenth the same effects were obtained by chromatropic projection, rather than by direct viewing. Another early machine of a similar type powered by falling sand is known as the giucco di luce (play of light). A rare surviving example is in the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, New York, while examples of the scarce artificial firework slides (of the type offered here) were included in the recent Eyes, Lies and Illusions exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, London. See Eyes, Lies and Illusions exhibition catalogue, pp. 204 and 205.
Exhibition-Quality Replica of 1750 Dutch Mechanical Optical Cabinet, by Ivan Roseman, with seven 18th century slides, lacquered-brass going-barrel movement of waisted-shield form with rotating shaft for animating the slides, signed Roseman, Cheltenham, 2002 and mounted on a tapering pillar, in oak proscenium with mahogany-veneered facade of pillars with giltwood capitals, pediment and alternating boxwood / ebony inlay, paper-lined interior with runners for mechanism and slides, slide panels on top and sides, side door and double doors at the rear, on dividing base with side door for storage space and tapering triangular feet, approx. 37 1/2 in. ht. x 12 1/2 in. Note: An exact replica of an important 18th century optical cabinet sold in London in 2002. The cabinet includes seven of the original 18th century 12 1/2-inch cut-paper and perforated slides in oak frames; a replica 11-inch diameter rotating disc of red, yellow and brown painted spirals, on wood mount for attaching to the movement with a brass collet; a replica cut and colored-paper slide of a balloon ascent; and two replica automaton slides of a painted windmill with turning sails and a cut-paper clock face with moving hands. A perforated slide of thick paper, mounted on a lightweight wooden frame, is placed in one of four runners behind the cabinet's proscenium. Behind the slide the clockwork mechanism rotates a translucent paper disc decorated with a spiraling pattern. On either side of the mechanism, a pair of candles in card trays would provide rear illumination for the disc. As the mechanism rotates, the spiral turns and the effect produced is similar to a firework display. After a suitable time, the cabinet's wooden 'curtain' is inserted, the slide changed for another, and the show continued with a different effect. The term 'artificial fireworks' (also known as Chinese fireworks) was given to these displays of twirling light effects. The term probably originated in the mid-17th century, and by the nineteenth the same effects were obtained by chromatropic projection, rather than by direct viewing. Another early machine of a similar type powered by falling sand is known as the giucco di luce (play of light). A rare surviving example is in the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, New York, while examples of the scarce artificial firework slides (of the type offered here) were included in the recent Eyes, Lies and Illusions exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, London. See Eyes, Lies and Illusions exhibition catalogue, pp. 204 and 205.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
