Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Automaton clock in the form of Diana on her chariot
Not on view
Elaborate automata were among the most sophisticated Renaissance clocks and prized objects of wonder in German princely collections. Augsburg was known for courtly drinking and dining amusements, and craftsmen specialized in producing automaton clocks that could move. When the mechanism in this lavishly decorated example was wound up, Diana would drive her chariot across a table and perform a series of motions. As a grand finale, she would shoot her arrow, much to guests’ delight.
