The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Labors of Hercules

Art Object

Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

Discover the secret compartments of this writing table and see how it can be transformed into a private altar.

Perhaps the most exquisite and technically refined piece from German cabinetmaker Abraham Roentgen (1711–1793), this desk was made for his premier patron, the Catholic official Johann Philipp von Walderdorff. Its interior holds a multitude of drawers, panels, and compartments, in addition to sophisticated mechanical fittings that safeguard the elector’s privacy.

This writing table from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013). Learn more about the table: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/collectie/BK-16676/bureau-op-s-vormige-poten-versierd-met-marqueterie.

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Labors of Hercules

Date:: third quarter 16th century
Culture:: Flemish or German, Rheinland
Medium:: Boxwood and various woods (marquetry)
Dimensions:: H. 1 3/16 in. (3 cm)
Classification:: Sculpture
Credit Line:: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number:: 17.190.310

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 520

Description

The pendant was probably intended as a display piece for a Kunstkammer, or collector's cabinet, demonstrating the technical skill of its maker.
Provenance

Charles Stein (until 1886; his sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 1886, no. 3 ); Baron Albert von Oppenheim (until 1906; sale, April 13, 1906, no. 187; to Morgan) ; J. Pierpont Morgan (until 1917; to MMA)
See also
What
Costume (41,678)

Sculpture (24,350)

Wood (7,651)

Jewelry (7,519)

Pendants (2,209)

Miniature (768)

Boxwood (241)
Where
Europe (148,586)

Germany (15,865)

Rhineland (55)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,545)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Collecting for the Kunstkammer

Central Europe (including Germany), 1400–1600 A.D.