Guillotine Automaton, 1770-1825
Bone and ink; 11 1/2 × 3 1/8 × 5 7/8 in.
2011.25.68a,b
Gift …

Model Guillotine

ClassificationsSculpture-models

Date1770-1825

Made AtFrance, Europe

MediumBone and ink

Dimensions11 1/2 × 3 1/8 × 5 7/8 in. (29.2 × 7.9 × 14.9 cm)

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Burton W. Fink

Object number2011.25.68a

DescriptionGuillotine automaton models made of bone such as this one are a result of the Napoleonic Wars (1770-1825). French prisoners of war who had been captured and imprisoned on ships by English forces were fed a diet of mutton, and the most enterprising of these captives did not let anything granted them go to waste. Over a lengthy period of time, they softened the bones that came with the meat so that they could be molded and carved like clay.

The most famous prisoner of war carvings are exquisitely crafted vessels built from memory in the style of French ships to be sold in English markets. This guillotine appears to have come out of this same tradition.

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