Magic lantern

Manufacturer	Louis Aubert
Name	Lanterne Buddha
Place	Paris (France)
Date	circa 1875
Register	07155

A rare example of a magic lantern for family use. It depicts a polychromed Chinese Mandarin (red, gold, black), with a flue in the form of a wavy cap crowned with a golden crescent. It is the first three-piece version made by the French house Aubert of this lantern model. The manufacturer and metalworker, Louis Aubert opened his business in Paris in 1842. He quickly became one of the most popular and prestigious manufacturers of toy magic lanterns, as he was very skilled in modelling the can and decorating it in bright colours painted with a translucent alcohol-based lacquer. He was the arch-rival of August Lapierre, the other great French manufacturer of magic lanterns. In certain models of lanterns it was difficult to determine who copied from whom. Lapierre took over the Aubert business in 1884 and merged the two factories in 1891.

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