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A large French carved platform ride figure of a nodding donkey Attributed to Gustave Bayol, circa 1900 image 1
A large French carved platform ride figure of a nodding donkey Attributed to Gustave Bayol, circa 1900 image 2
A large French carved platform ride figure of a nodding donkey Attributed to Gustave Bayol, circa 1900 image 3
A large French carved platform ride figure of a nodding donkey Attributed to Gustave Bayol, circa 1900 image 4
A large French carved platform ride figure of a nodding donkey Attributed to Gustave Bayol, circa 1900 image 5
Lot 128TP

A large French carved platform ride figure of a nodding donkey
Attributed to Gustave Bayol, circa 1900

10 September 2024, 10:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £6,144 inc. premium

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A large French carved platform ride figure of a nodding donkey

Attributed to Gustave Bayol, circa 1900
The animal facing forward with head and neck mounted to the body with removable bolts, with a brass handle, lacking gessoed and painted decoration, 32cm wide, 171cm deep, 142cm high (12.5in wide, 67in deep, 55 1/2in high)

Footnotes

Like many of his English contemporaries, Gustave Bayol initially trained as a joiner and wood carver under his father. In 1884, after his military service, he opened a carving shop in Angers and soon noticed a gap in the fairground market; there was a distinct lack of French produced carousel pieces and French showmen appeared to import the majority of their carved elements from Germany. Capitalising on this, Bayol began to produce his own carved carousel animals, drawing inspiration from the largely agrarian nation and becoming popular for his farmyard animals such as pigs and cows.

In 1909, at this height of his success, Bayol sold the factory on to three of his workforce: Coquereau, Chailloux and Maréchal. Chailloux left the team shortly after, but Coquereau and Maréchal continued production and began to employ a greater degree of extravagance in their work. They often focused on large 'themed' carousels dedicated to one species of animal, such as a carousel of bulls supposedly commissioned from South America.

For a similar example see: The Tussauds Collection of Fairground Art, Christie's, Wookey Hall, Somerset, 6 October 1997, Lot 76/77.

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