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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Art Object
Program Information

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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Ewer

Marc Bazille  (1706–1777, master 1732)

Date:
1745–46
Culture:
French (Montpellier)
Medium:
Silver
Dimensions:
H. 10-1/4 in. (26.0 cm.)
Classification:
Metalwork
Credit Line:
Bequest of Ella Morris de Peyster, 1958
Accession Number:
58.60.1

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 545

  • Description

    A ewer with its accompanying basin was among the most important components of the washing and grooming ritual known in France as la toilette. The ewer would have held water; the basin served as a small, portable sink. The intended function of this ewer and basin is made clear by the aquatic motifs chosen to decorate them. Beneath the spout of the ewer is a dolphin mask framed by bullrushes, and the finial of the hinged cover is formed by a dolphin whose tail serves as a thumbpiece. Bullrushes also decorate the inner sides of the basin.
    This ewer and basin are among the Museum's finest pieces of French Rococo silver. The sinuous lines of the ewer and its handle are a hallmark of the Rococo style, and the dolphin, appearing both in mask and finial form, was a frequently used motif.

  • Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

    Marking: [1] Crowned lily, 2 grains de remède, M B (maker's mark) [2] Fleur-de-lis, 2 stars above (charge mark for jurisdiction of Montpellier, 1744-50) [3] Crowned S, 2 pellets, M P L below (Montpellier warden's mark, 1745-46) [4] Crowned heraldic ermine (?) flanked by 2 pellets (discharge mark for jurisdiction of Montpellier, 1744-50) [5] Unidentified [6] Boar's head (Paris, restricted warranty, 1838-79) Location of marks: [1]-[3] on bottom [4] on outside of foot rim [5], [6] on rim of lip and cover, on outside of foot rim

  • Provenance

    Ella Morris de Peyster (until 1958; bequeathed to MMA)

  • See also
    Who
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    Where
    When
    In the Museum
    Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
120017448

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