The Mechanical Galleon is an elaborate nef or table ornament in the form of a ship, which is also an automaton and clock.

Nefs were extravagant ship-shaped table ornaments in precious metal that had been popular for some centuries among the very wealthy.

[citation needed] 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.

This particular piece was believed to have been owned by Rudolf II in Prague[3] but recent evidence points to it having been on the inventory of the Kunstkammer of Augustus I, Elector of Saxony in Dresden in 1585.

[5] It was fancied that the Mechanical Galleon "might have enlivened the dullest imperial banquets by racing along the table, guns blazing and trumpets blowing".

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.

[9] Historically, it is believed to be an artefact mentioned in an inventory of the Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe) treasury of Augustus, Elector of Saxony[1] of Dresden in 1585.

Inside, the Holy Roman Emperor sits on the Imperial throne, and in front of him pass the seven electors with heralds, paying homage as they receive their fiefs.

[8] This automaton was featured in the History of the World in 100 Objects, which was a series of radio programmes that started in 2010 and that were created in a partnership between the BBC and the British Museum.

All these early modern rulers competed with each other to make the best of this kind of object in order to show off their craftsmen.

[10]The Museum Speelklok in Utrecht has a working replica of a shooting ship, including a real miniature cannon.