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Course: The Metropolitan Museum of Art > Unit 1
Lesson 14: Extravagant Inventions- Demonstration of David Roentgen's Automaton of Queen Marie Antoinette, The Dulcimer Player
- Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)
- Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen (demonstration)
- Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen (animation)
- Unfolding an 18th-century Game Table
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Demonstration of David Roentgen's Automaton of Queen Marie Antoinette, The Dulcimer Player
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.
. Created by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Want to join the conversation?
- That's amazing, but how does it work?(8 votes)
- i'm pretty sure you wind it up and then it turns the gears(1 vote)
- Is she actually hitting the keys, or is the sound produced in the inside of the toy?(4 votes)
- The automaton is actually playing the instrument! Which I frankly, find amazing.(4 votes)
- What exactly is an automaton?(2 votes)
- An automaton is a self-operating machine, pretty much the precursor to robots.(5 votes)
- Who made this?(3 votes)
- According to Dr. Minsoo Kang, this amazing machine was created by Peter Kintzing and David Roentgen in 1784. You can learn more on the Harvard University blog here: http://harvardpress.typepad.com/hup_publicity/2011/02/marie-antoinette-sublime-dreams-living-machines.html(3 votes)
- Cool instrument though. I searched and it seems that one almost of this size is actually about $440.00(1 vote)
- I just can not open it ,why?(1 vote)
- Is this inventor a relative of the guy who discovered X-rays?(1 vote)
- Find this on Wikipedia:
Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923), German physicist, discoverer of X-rays
Abraham Roentgen (1711–1793), German cabinetmaker
David Roentgen (1743–1807), German cabinetmaker, son of Abraham Roentgen
Heinrich Röntgen (1787–1813), German explorer
Julius Röntgen (1855–1932), German-Dutch composer of classical music
Kevin Roentgen, musician, singer with American rock band Orson(1 vote)