The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Vase (one of a pair)

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
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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3001 views

Vase (one of a pair)

Vienna

Factory director:: Du Paquier period (1718–1744)
Date:: ca. 1725
Culture:: Austrian (Vienna)
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: H. 5-5/8 in. (14.3 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: The Hans Syz Collection, Gift of Stephan B. Syz and John D. Syz, 1995
Accession Number:: 1995.268.277

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)

Vase (one of a pair)

Vienna

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

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Vase (one of a pair)

Vienna

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store