The writing hand

The clockwork mechanism moves a hand, causing it to dip the pen in the inkstand and write the words "Huic Domui Deus / Nec metas rerum / Nec tempora ponat" ["May God not impose ends or deadlines on this house"] on a small card. The mechanism's silvered metal coating carries the words "Pro patria." The machine is dedicated by the craftsman Friedrich von Knaus to the House of Lorraine, which ruled Tuscany at the time.