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.

Video/Audio (4)

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10702 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16956 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3033 views

Teapot

Gillsland and Ker

Date:: 1771–72
Culture:: Scottish (Edinburgh)
Medium:: Silver
Dimensions:: 7 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. (18.4 x 24.8 cm)
Classification:: Metalwork
Credit Line:: Bequest of Ogden Livingston Mills, 1937
Accession Number:: 38.21.14

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: Motto: DIRIGET DEUS

Marking: [1] castle (Edinburgh town mark); [2] R. (date letter for 1771-72); [3] thistle (assay master's mark); [4] G & K, script, in rectangle, (maker's mark for Gillsland and Ker) Location of marks: All on base.
Provenance

Odgen Livingston Mills (until 1937; bequeathed to MMA)
See also
Who
Gillsland Ker (1)
What
Metal (59,619)

Metalwork (14,693)

Silver (14,061)

Teapots (652)
Where
Europe (150,115)

United Kingdom (25,745)

Scottish (1,856)

Edinburgh (22)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,675)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,264)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Great Britain and Ireland, 1600–1800 A.D.

WHAT IS MYMET?

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

Teapot

Gillsland and Ker

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store

WHAT IS MYMET?

Already have a mymet account? Sign in

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

Related Content

Teapot

Gillsland and Ker

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store