The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

David Roentgen's Automaton of Queen Marie Antoinette, The Dulcimer Player (La Joueuse de Tympanon)

Watch this surprising video of an automaton play the dulcimer.

David Roentgen (1743–1807) took his royal patron by surprise when he delivered this beautiful automaton to King Louis XVI for his queen, Marie Antoinette, in 1784. The cabinetry for this piece is very much a neoclassical masterwork, and the mechanism behind it is truly extraordinary: the figure strikes the strings in perfect rhythm with two small metal hammers held in her hands, which move with great precision.

This object, from the Musée des arts et métiers de Paris, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

See the full video: http://www.cerimes.fr/le-catalogue/la-joueuse-de-tympanon.html

Footage courtesy of CERIMES.

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock
(00:00:52)

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10523 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16384 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3001 views

Pair-case watch

Watchmaker: Thomas Tompion (1639–1713)

Maker:: Case maker: Nathanial Delander (recorded 1668 or 1669, died ca. 1691 or before)
Date:: before 1682
Culture:: British, London
Medium:: Outer case: leather, studded with gold pins; Inner case and champlevé dial: gold; movement, with verge escapment signed
Dimensions:: Diam. 2-1/2 in. (6.4 cm)
Classification:: Horology
Credit Line:: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number:: 17.190.1489a, b

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 517

Description

This extraordinary watch records seconds on the subsidiary dial above the number VI on the chapter ring for hours and minutes. It also has a remarkably early stop mechanism that can be activated at will in order to measure short intervals of time. The watch is not numbered on the back plate, but it is numbered 175 on the pillar plate and on the inner case.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Marking: Inner case: [1] ND above 175 (punched) (interior) (probably Nathanial Delander); Movement: [1] Tho. Tompion London (engraved) (on the backplate); [2] SC (back of the dial plate); [3] 175 (punched) (on the pillar plate); [4] 72 (scratched) (on the back of the dial); [5] 1 1/4 (scratched) (on the back of the clock); Outer case: AWR (monogram)
Provenance

Frederick George Hilton Price ; J. Pierpont Morgan (until 1917; to MMA)
See also
Who
Thomas Tompion (9)

Nathanial Delander (3)
What
Metal (59,364)

Gold (12,457)

Leather (5,761)

Cases (1,751)

Pins (1,471)

Timepieces (1,121)

Watches (767)

Champlevé (329)

Dials (94)

Movements (73)
Where
Europe (148,586)

United Kingdom (25,557)

England (9,102)

London (2,006)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Seventeenth–Century European Watches

Great Britain and Ireland, 1600–1800 A.D.

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David Roentgen's Automaton of Queen Marie Antoinette, The Dulcimer Player (La Joueuse de Tympanon)

Pair-case watch

Watchmaker: Thomas Tompion (1639–1713)

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David Roentgen's Automaton of Queen Marie Antoinette, The Dulcimer Player (La Joueuse de Tympanon)

Related Content

Pair-case watch

Watchmaker: Thomas Tompion (1639–1713)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store