Although the movement is now inoperative, the girl would have tapped on the puppet box where the curtain would have opened to reveal a figure with a distintive head. After the curtain closes again, the girl taps once more and the view would now show a figure with a different head, repeating the surprise with a total of five different character heads. This particular piece by Renou is considered to have one of the most complex actions of motion for an automaton, and is accompanied by a single-air musical movement running from the mainspring.

A similar lot sold Skinner, Bolton, USA, 4 May 2005, lot 146.
A similar example is shown on pages 192-193, Automata, The Golden Age, 1848-1914.