The Mechanical Galleon is an elaborate nef or table ornament in the form of a ship, which is also an automaton and clock. It was constructed in about 1585 by Hans Schlottheim in southern Germany and was in the possession of Augustus, Elector of Saxony. The model is now in the British Museum in London.
About Mechanical Galleon in brief
The Mechanical Galleon is an elaborate nef or table ornament in the form of a ship, which is also an automaton and clock. It was constructed in about 1585 by Hans Schlottheim in southern Germany and was in the possession of Augustus, Elector of Saxony. The model is now in the British Museum in London. Two other similar models are located in museums in France and Austria, the Château d’Écouen and the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Nefs were extravagant ship-shaped table ornaments in precious metal that had been popular for some centuries among the very wealthy. In the sixteenth century there was an enthusiasm for clockwork automata, the production of which was funded by potentates including Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and Suleyman the Magnificent.
The British Museum notes that the eight figures on deck are not the originals but casts taken from one original figure. However they also mention that they may have one of the figures, but are unsure as to whether it is this nef. It is known that the figures on the ship would have held drums and trumpets and would have fired cannons and blared trumpets. In 2010, the MechanicalGalleon no longer functions. The drumskin that was used to drum as it rolled is no longer present, and the original wheels have been replaced with ball-shaped feet.
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This page is based on the article Mechanical Galleon published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
