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) 10702 views

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

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

Trent

John Henry Dearle (British, 1860–1932)

Manufactory:: Manufactured by Morris & Company (British)
Date:: designed 1888
Culture:: British, Merton Abbey
Medium:: Linen
Dimensions:: L. 66 x W. 38 inches 167.6 x 96.5 cm
Classification:: Textiles
Credit Line:: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915
Accession Number:: 30.95.42

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: Stamped on selvage, REGD MORRIS AND COMPANY ("D" superscripted and underlined) / 449 OXFORD STREET LONDON W; G.H. Inscribed in pencil: "2877" and "491" (encircled). See object file for images of selvage marking and inscriptions.
Provenance

Theodore M. Davis (until 1915; bequeathed by MMA)
See also
Who
Morris & Company (41)

John Henry Dearle (7)
What
Textiles (32,920)

Fragments (15,198)

Linen (7,712)

Printing (3,835)
Where
Europe (150,115)

United Kingdom (25,745)

England (9,106)

Surrey (35)

Merton Abbey (20)
When
A.D. 1800-1900 (80,790)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,264)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Great Britain and Ireland, 1800–1900 A.D.

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

Trent

John Henry Dearle (British, 1860–1932)

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

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Trent

John Henry Dearle (British, 1860–1932)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store