A few years back, Fine Woodworking‘s Steve Scott had blogged about a stunning exhibition at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art covering the extravagant furniture of Abraham and David Roentgen. The Roentgens are known for furniture that was so over the top it makes your brain hurt. David in particular was so accomplished, he soon caught the eye of Marie Antoinette, who would eventually become one of his greatest patrons.
So great in fact, was the French queen’s affection for Roentgen’s genius, that when he presented her with a superbly crafted automaton in 1784, she purchased it for the French Academy of Sciences. Roentgen’s automaton-able to play a number of melodies by way of striking it’s delicate strings with a pair of tiny hammers-is the kind of project that makes a proud woodworker like me completely reevaluate my body of work. Sure, I’ve built a number of case pieces, tables, intricate boxes, even a violin over the years-but David constructed a fully articulated model of the French Queen, able to play an instrument-in 1784. I’m embarrassed. I no longer have anything to be proud of. In fact, after seeing this video, I might even say I’m nothing more than a hack!
As you watch the French monarch’s miniature produce music, keep in mind the fact that this work of art was created before the conclusion of the American Revolution, before the appearance of the first wristwatches, and before the first photograph was ever taken. It boggles the mind.
Comments
Are you sure this is not an elaborate hoax, Ed? She even twitches her head occasionally while playing. And the shot from the rear looks so lifelike! It's a miniature...what is the actual size?
As a musician, I noticed the hands are not perfectly in sync with the music, so I think she is not actually playing the notes, and the music itself is played by some other kind of mechanism.
Super Great Piece of wood working... I never ever think we could ever do that.. Anyone can share the secret?
Visual and Sound has some Delay may caused by video editing... so that may be video editing problem..
This is one of the most remarkable pieces that I've seen, I love it. This appears in the Met's Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens. The doll is 53cm tall, the stand is 122 x 121.5 x 57.5 cm, the podium case is 112 x 46 x 14 cm, and the dulcimer is 31.5 x 70.5 x 36.5 cm.
Wow, incredible! Thanks for sharing Ed
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