Diana and Stag Automaton at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is actually a princely drinking game

Falk Keuten of the Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik blog wrote to let us know about an automaton in my own backyard. Given that he's in Germany, it's fair to say that he is a very well-informed man!

A new exhibit at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts features an automaton of Diana, goddess of the hunt, riding a stag. The piece is in the museum's new Kunstkammer gallery, which now displays the type of thing that wealthy individuals in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries might have collected.

The piece itself is made from cast and chased silver -- some parts gilded, some painted with lacquer. The automaton was designed as a form drinking game at courtly banquets. It moves about the table and stops arbitrarily. If it stops near you, it's your turn to drink.

Here's the full article in The Boston Globe on the ‘Diana and Stag Automaton’ at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.

Here's the MFA's page about the new Kunstkammer Gallery.

Many pieces such as this are document in the wonderful book titled Clockwork Universe: German Clocks and Automata, 1550-1650

From the book description:

This book depicts the golden age of German clockmaking. The volume offers the most comprehensive examination of the German Renaissance clock ever undertaken. From the founding of the clockmaker's guilds to the eventual shifting of the craft's supremacy from German-speaking central Europe to Holland and England after the Thirty Year's War. Includes contributions from 14 scholars, over 200 illustrations and technical drawings.

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Clockwork Universe: German Clocks and Automata

The book entitled Clockwork Universe: German Clocks and Automata, 1550-1650, is a comprehensive history of the golden age of German clock-making. The book explores the complex mechanisms, the exquisite artistry, and the changing world-view that contributed to their creation.

The guiding thesis of the book is a familiar but compelling one:

The mechanical clock, at least in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, with its rational design and regular running, demonstrated an orderliness lacking in almost every aspect of life at that time. The clock came to offer an explanation for the mysterious workings of the cosmos: living creatures were in fact automata, and the universe itself was an enormous clockwork.

The book features beautiful black & white and color photographs, 200 illustrations and technical drawings. These visuals supplement the detailed descriptions of clocks, automata and mechanical celestial globes from this period. There is even a short section on the famous monk automaton. This is a wonderful reference book covering some astounding mechanical creations.

Here is where you can get a copy of Clockwork Universe: German Clocks and Automata, 1550-1650.

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Book: Tinplate Toys from Schuco, Bing, & Others

Here is what looks to be a very nice book on tinplate toys from Germany -- Nuremberg, in particular -- during the mid 1900s.

From the book description:

The chapters include 300 color photographs, information about the manufacturers (especially Schuco and Bing) and their markings, and essays on the past, present and future of this special toy industry. The mechanical figures, automobiles, trucks, trains, machines and associated buildings that are presented will remind many of the best toys of their youth.

Here is a link on Amazon.co to Tinplate Toys: From Schuco, Bing, & Other Companies

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