News: Von Knaus’s Writing Hand is working again!

Built in Vienna in 1764 by clockmaker and automaton builder Friedrich von Knaus (1724-1789), the Writing Hand has undergone many challenges. Undoubtedly, the most serious event was the 1966 Florence flood, which was followed by a hasty restoration carried out using the techniques available at the time. In 2015, a thorough inspection conducted by Paolo Brenni and Giorgio Strano uncovered a broken transmission wheel within the complex clockwork mechanism. Though restored by Andrea Palmieri, the wheel could not be immediately put back in place due to the complex process required to open the display case where the automaton is exhibited. However, on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Museo Galileo’s founding, the Writing Hand was temporarily moved to an easily accessible display case. This relocation made it possible to work on the mechanism and reinsert the missing wheel, finally restoring the automaton to working order. For the first time, the elaborate movement of the hand—from the inkwell to the sheet of paper and the tracing of the phrase “Huic Domui Deus │ Nec metas rerum │ Nec tempora ponat” (May God grant this House neither end nor expiration)—was videotaped.