Automaton clock depicts the goddess Diana on her chariot

Take a look at this antique automaton clock which depicts the goddess Diana on her chariot. The piece -- made around 1610 in Augsburg, Germany -- was recently recovered from storage. The automaton is made from gilt bronze and silver with an enameled dial. The case is ebony and gilt bronze and the movement itself is iron and brass. What a find!

From the video description:

Probably drawing inspiration from contemporary prints, the clock portrays the Roman goddess of the hunt, Diana, on a chariot pulled by two leopards. Precious clocks like this were collaborative enterprises among goldsmiths, sculptors, clockmakers, engravers, and even cabinetmakers. They were important status symbols in European courts, representative of the most cutting-edge technology of their time, and they were often used as diplomatic gifts. This clock—which has been recently restored and is now on view in the European art galleries—is also a table carriage, a lavish form of tabletop entertainment during banquets. This short video unveils the highly sophisticated inner mechanism of the clock, delicate parts that are otherwise hidden from view and are remarkably still in tact.

In the video above, we get a sampling of the movements and sounds the clock makes when wound and set running, including the Diana figure shooting her bow. Rare and valuable devices such as this were often used as entertainment by the elites of time. This one may well have been incorporated into a game played at the dinning table.

On loan from Yale University Art Gallery, the automaton clock is part of The Luxury of Time: European Clocks and Watches exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Via a post on Hyperallergic

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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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Magnificent silver swan automaton by John-Joseph Merlin

The Wall Street Journal featured a nice article on the silver swan automaton housed at the Bowes Museum. The swan was created by John-Joseph Merlin (1735 – 1803), a Belgian inventor and horologist. The automaton is indeed a marvel of mechanical design.

From the Wall Street Journal article:

The most complex machinery is in the neck. The movement is driven by four springs, each about one millimeter thick. There are five levers: one operates the lower bill to preen the feathers and "eat" the fish; the second operates the fish (which is concealed in the neck) that the bird appears to catch; the third allows the swan's head to nod; the fourth arches the neck; and the fifth is linked to the middle and allows its graceful movement.

Once a day, the automaton is set in motion. The bird looks left and right, then turns its neck around as if to preen the silver feathers on its back. Spinning glass rods in front of the majestic bird give the impression of a flowing stream in which several small fish seem to swim. The bird spots the fish and plunges down, beak agape, to catch one. Upon rising, a wriggling silver fish is seen within the bird's beak. After a few moments, the bird swallows the metallic fish and the show ends.

Here is the article in the Wall Street Journal about the silver swan automaton: Magic Wrought by a Merlin.

[ Thanks Bob! ]

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Four beautiful singing bird boxes featuring tiny automaton birds

Four antique singing bird boxes like the one shown in the video will be included in today's auction hosted by Skinner.

Here are images of the actual singing bird boxes going to auction:

Contained within these small, elegant music boxes is a complex mechanism and bellows which provide mechanical movement to the bird, wings, tail and beak while pumping air through a tiny slide-whistle, which provides the sound. Most of these are German made. They are estimated to be worth between $400 to $1,200 each.

Here are the auction details
Date: June 2, 2012, 10am
Preview Times:
   June 2, 2012, 8am - 9:30am
Location: 274 Cedar Hill Street, Marlborough, MA

Here is the Skinner's Science, Technology & Clocks page where the online catalog may be viewed.

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A skeletonized pocket watch broke my heart

I was lucky enough to have received an Amazon gift card this holiday season. I was clicking around the site and the watch shown here caught my eye. It was mixed in among the 140 other skeletonized pocket watches -- many of which are quite affordable. All too quickly, I got my hopes up.

The bad news: it costs $2,875.00.

The good news: it comes with FREE SUPER SAVER SHIPPING!!!

Alas, my gift card -- even with the generous shipping offer -- won't quite be enough. I think I'll keep looking for an antique Waltham pocket watch.

If you feel like punishing yourself here's the page for the Catorex Argent Massif 925 Skeletal Pocket Watch.

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Fantastic Silver Swan automaton from 1773

This video shows the famous Silver Swan automaton. Attributed -- at least its mechanism -- to John Joseph Merlin, this amazing automaton dates back to the 1773.

The life-size bird is driven by clockwork. The swan floats on a pool cleverly made of glass rods which rotate to give the illusion of moving water. When sent in motion, a music box plays, the swan turns its head, snatches a silver fish from the pool, and swallows it.

The Silver Swan is now located the Bowes Museum in Teesdale, England where it is still operated once each day. Here's a link to The Silver Swan page on the Bowes Museum web site.

[ Thanks Joe! ]

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