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) 10549 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16461 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3008 views

Pair of salts

Charles Toft (active ca. 1868–1882)

Factory:: Minton(s) (1793–present)
Date:: 1870s
Culture:: British, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Medium:: Lead-glazed white earthenware
Dimensions:: .1) H. 5-7/32 in. (13.3 cm); W. at foot 3-3/16 in. (8.1 cm) .2) H. 5-3/16 in. (13.2 cm); W. at foot (8.3 cm)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Victor Thaw, 1993
Accession Number:: 1993.493.1, .2

This artwork is not on display

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

Pair of salts

Charles Toft (active ca. 1868–1882)

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

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Pair of salts

Charles Toft (active ca. 1868–1882)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store