# Topics > Related topics > Automatons, automata >  Automata by Peter Kinzing and David Roentgen

## Airicist

Peter Kinzing on Wikipedia

David Roentgen on Wikipedia

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## Airicist

Joueuse de Tympanon - automate

Uploaded on Oct 6, 2006




> This automaton was created in the 18th century and restored for the first time by ROBERT-HOUDIN in 1864.


La Joueuse de tympanon on Wikipedia

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## Airicist

The Roentgens' Rolltop Desk

Published on Oct 25, 2012




> Watch as this desk's hidden features are revealed.
> 
> The richly embellished surface of this rolltop desk conceal a wealth of mechanical surprises and features, including a spectacular arrangement of almost forty compartments and drawers. Abraham (1711--1793) and David Roentgen (1743--1807) designed this table not just for writing and reading but also to function as a dressing table, or poudreuse.
> 
> This table is from Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens, Washington DC, and is on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens

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## Airicist

David Roentgen's Automaton of Queen Marie Antoinette, The Dulcimer Player (La Joueuse de Tympanon)

Published on Oct 24, 2012




> 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.

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## Airicist

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

Published on Oct 25, 2012




> The inventive talents of David Roentgen are evident in this exceptionally refined desk. The monogram DR inlaid beneath the kehole on the lower drawer indicates the cabinetmaker's satisfaction with one of his most mechanically ingenuous creations: a single key inserted at different depths unlocks the center drawer, releases the rolltop, or releases the hidden side drawers; if a button is pressed on the underside of these drawers, each swings aside to reveal three other drawers. Above the rolltop, the rectangular structure consists of a single wide drawer. His artistic creativity is evident in the chinoiserie marquetry scenes, created by using minute pieces of naturally colored exotic woods that have a painterly effect.

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## Airicist

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Published on Oct 25, 2012




> Discover the hidden features and intricate interior of this cabinet.
> 
> One of the finest achievements of European furniture making, this cabinet is the most important product from Abraham (1711--1793) and David Roentgen's (1743--1807) workshop. A writing cabinet crowned with a chiming clock, it features finely designed marquetry panels and elaborate mechanisms that allow for doors and drawers to be opened automatically at the touch of a button. Owned by King Frederick William II, the Berlin cabinet is uniquely remarkable for its ornate decoration, mechanical complexity, and sheer size.

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## Airicist

Demonstration of David Roentgen's Automaton of Queen Marie Antoinette, The Dulcimer Player

Published on Nov 20, 2012




> Watch a demonstration of Queen Marie Antoinette's Automaton playing one of eight melodies it can perform.
> 
> 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.

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