The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Christ at the Column

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) 10632 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16720 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3016 views

Christ at the Column

After a model by François Duquesnoy (Brussels 1594–1643 Livorno, Italy)

Date:: late 17th century
Culture:: French
Medium:: Bronze, dark brown patina; ebony, gilt bronze.
Dimensions:: H. including pedestal 17-3/4 in. (45.1 cm.)
Classification:: Sculpture
Credit Line:: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1940
Accession Number:: 40.90.1

This artwork is not on display

Provenance

E.F. Bonaventure , New York (until 1936; sale, American Art Association, New York , May 8, 1936, no. 307); [ Piero Tozzi , 1940; sold to MMA ]
See also
Who
François Duquesnoy (3)
What
Metal (59,364)

Sculpture (24,350)

Copper alloy (16,630)

Bronze (11,628)

Gilt (9,043)

Wood (7,651)

Statues (4,078)

Figurines (3,249)

Plate (2,675)

Ormolu (1,683)

Patina (368)

Ebony (362)
Where
Europe (148,586)

France (52,276)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
France, 1600–1800 A.D.

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

Christ at the Column

After a model by François Duquesnoy (Brussels 1594–1643 Livorno, Italy)

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

Related Content

Christ at the Column

After a model by François Duquesnoy (Brussels 1594–1643 Livorno, Italy)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store