The Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Blessed Catherine

Art Object

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Discover the hidden features and intricate interior of this cabinet.

One of the finest achievements of European furniture making, this cabinet is the most important product from Abraham (1711–1793) and David Roentgen's (1743–1807) workshop. A writing cabinet crowned with a chiming clock, it features finely designed marquetry panels and elaborate mechanisms that allow for doors and drawers to be opened automatically at the touch of a button. Owned by King Frederick William II, the Berlin cabinet is uniquely remarkable for its ornate decoration, mechanical complexity, and sheer size.

This cabinet, from Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Footage courtesy of VideoART GmbH and Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock
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The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
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The Blessed Catherine

After an original by Giacomo Serpotta (1656–1732)

Date:: 1762
Culture:: Italian (Palermo), Sicily
Medium:: Silver
Dimensions:: H. 5-3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
Classification:: Sculpture
Credit Line:: Rogers Fund, 1969
Accession Number:: 69.133.1

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 550

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: del Serpotta (Inscribed in ink on back of figure)

Marking: Marks stamped on the left edge of robe (see thumbnail sketch). The initials N.G. undoubtedly refer to Nunzio Gino who was a consul of the silversmith's guild in Palermo in 1762. Thus, the mark appears to denote Gino's consulship and not the silversmith responsible
Provenance

Rev. Pasquale Maltese
See also
Who
Giacomo Serpotta (2)
What
Metal (59,364)

Sculpture (24,350)

Silver (14,056)

Statues (4,078)

Figurines (3,249)

Reliefs (3,153)

Miniature (768)
Where
Europe (148,586)

Italy (20,983)

Sicily (152)

Palermo (5)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Art of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries in Naples

Rome and Southern Italy, 1600–1800 A.D.

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The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

The Blessed Catherine

After an original by Giacomo Serpotta (1656–1732)

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The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

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The Blessed Catherine

After an original by Giacomo Serpotta (1656–1732)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store