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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Art Object
Program Information

Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Program information

See how this desk converts into a dressing table.

When closed, this table may not seem like one of the most complex pieces of European furniture ever made. However, once opened, its concealed drawers and hidden features are exposed, and the entire piece transforms into a dressing table, orpoudreuse. Scholars believe it was commissioned as a wedding gift from Abraham (1711–1793) and David Roentgen (1743–1807) by Friedrich August III, Elector of Saxony, to his bride in 1769.

This table, from Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Images courtesy of Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt.

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Exhibitions:

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Events:

Washstand (Athénienne or Lavabo)

Design attributed to Charles Percier  (French, Paris 1764–1838 Paris)

Maker:
Mounts by Martin-Guillaume Biennais (1764–1843, active ca. 1796–1819)
Date:
1800–1814
Culture:
French (Paris)
Medium:
Legs, base and shelf of yew wood; gilt-bronze mounts; iron plate beneath shelf
Dimensions:
H. 36-3/8 in. (92.4 cm); Diam. 19-1/2 in. (49.5 cm)
Classification:
Woodwork
Credit Line:
Bequest of James Alexander Scrymser, 1918
Accession Number:
26.256.1

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 553

120010323

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