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) 10702 views

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

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

Dog kennel

Claude I Sené (1724–1792, master 1743)

Date:: ca. 1775–80
Culture:: French
Medium:: Gilded beech and pine; silk and velvet
Dimensions:: H. 30-3/4 x W. 21-1/2 x D. 21-1/2 in. (78.1 x 54.6 x 54.6 cm); H. of opening: 11-3/4 in. (29.8 cm)
Classification:: Woodwork
Credit Line:: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1971
Accession Number:: 1971.206.18

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 526

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Signature: G. SENE (stamped on the underside of the back rail in the center)

Marking: (branded, in the center of the bottom) a cipher formed by the letters M and A beneath a closed royal crown all within a circle of words reading GARDE MEUBLE DE LA REINE (mark of the Garde Meuble de la Reine Marie-Antoinette)
Provenance

Château de Versailles, Versailles, FranceMarie Antoinette, Queen of France ; [ Koenigsberg, New York ] ; Richard Peñard y Fernandez , Paris (until 1960; his sale, Musée Galliéra, Paris, December 7 , 1960, no. 123); Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman (until 1971; to MMA)
See also
Who
Claude I Sené (3)
What
Silk (34,059)

Wood (9,287)

Gilt (9,067)

Furniture (5,728)

Woodwork (2,583)

Softwood (1,183)

Pine (894)

Beech (219)

Kennels (1)
Where
Europe (150,013)

France (49,321)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,646)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,264)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
France, 1600–1800 A.D.
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Demonstration of David Roentgen's Automaton of Queen Marie Antoinette, The Dulcimer Player

Dog kennel

Claude I Sené (1724–1792, master 1743)

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

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Dog kennel

Claude I Sené (1724–1792, master 1743)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store