The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

Demonstration of David Roentgen's Automaton of Queen Marie Antoinette, The Dulcimer Player

Watch a demonstration of Queen Marie Antoinette's Automaton playing one of eight melodies it can perform.

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).

View a full documentary featuring this object: 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

Dish

Date:: ca. 1500–10
Culture:: Italian (Deruta)
Medium:: Maiolica (tin-enameled earthenware)
Dimensions:: Overall: 1 3/8 x 8 5/8 in. (3.5 x 21.9 cm)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Fletcher Fund, 1946
Accession Number:: 46.85.40

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Marking: On underside in blue, "P" (see "media on file" for photo of mark).
Provenance

J. Pierpont Morgan ; Mortimer L. Schiff (before 1927–46; sale, Mortimer L. Schiff collection, Parke- Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, May 4, 1946, no. 106; to French & Co. for MMA)
See also
What
Ceramics (29,320)

Pottery (12,856)

Dishes (6,707)

Earthenware (6,696)

Maiolica (565)
Where
Europe (148,586)

Italy (20,983)

Umbrian (189)

Perugia (135)

Deruta (67)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,545)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Florence and Central Italy, 1400–1600 A.D.