23 May 2019
Diana and Stag
Art, Germany, Joachim Friess, Sculpture
![](https://neveryetmelted.com/wp-content/themes/a-blog-apart-065-en/gfx/line.gif)
Joachim Friess, Diana and Stag automata drinking cup, 1620, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
href=”https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/193623″>Elizabeth Cleland, 2017:
This object was prized, though not unique; other versions survive, all targeted at the wealthiest clientele. A wind-up mechanism once moved the group forward on hidden wheels, making it vibrate as if with life. Uniting modern technology, precious casework, and visual appeal, automatons were celebrated as a novelty entertainment for guests of the most moneyed classes. Removing the stag’s head reveals a drinking vessel; the diner in front of whom the piece stopped had to drain the cup.
HT: Karen L. Myers.