Automaton masterpieces of Metropolitan

Automaton masterpieces of Metropolitan
Beautiful automaton in the form of sculptural composition of Diana and the Stag was made in 1610. The author – German goldsmith Joachim Friess, born in Lubeck in 1579 (died 1620). Materials used – silver, partly gilt, jewels, enamel. After removing the head of the stag, you may fill the body with wine, wind up the motor (the key hole is in the base) and send lovely Diana down the table to your guests. The masterpiece is a part of automaton collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.



Case: gilded brass on a base of ebony and ebony veneered on fruit-wood; Movement: brass and iron. Automata have been associated with European mechanical clocks from their earliest development. The eagle, an emblem of the Hapsburgs, thus had special meaning for Augsburg clock makers. When the clock strikes the hour, the scepter moves, and at the quarters, the eagle opens and shuts its beak and rolls its eyes.

Pair-case automaton watch by James Cox (1723–1800), ca. 1770, Medium: gold, partly enameled and set with gemstones and paste jewels; Inner case: gold; Dial: white enamel, with frame set with paste jewels; Movement: with diamond endstone. When activated, the eight rosettes, or stars, spin within the rotating frame on the dial of this watch, which is pave-set with paste jewels.



Automaton masterpieces of Metropolitan



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