The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Plate (one of a pair)

Art Object

Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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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Plate (one of a pair)

After a design by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (French, Lille 1636–1699 London)

Date:: ca. 1735–40
Culture:: Chinese
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: H. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.); Diam. 15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, Purchase, Winfield Foundation Gift, 1962
Accession Number:: 62.187.1

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 510

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Plate (one of a pair)

After a design by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (French, Lille 1636–1699 London)

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Plate (one of a pair)

After a design by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (French, Lille 1636–1699 London)

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Met Kids

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