Consisting of four steel rings, 'Roundhead' is one of Lye’s earliest tangibles.
As the outer ring is gently spun by the motorised base, energy is transferred to the three inner rings, which reflect light from their metal surfaces as they spin.
Although the motor and the rings generate their own sounds, Lye heightened the musical effect by incorporating a music box in the base that played in- and out-of-phase with the movement of the rings.