The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

The inventive talents of David Roentgen are evident in this exceptionally refined desk. The monogram "DR" inlaid beneath the keyhole on the lower drawer indicates the cabinetmaker's satisfaction with one of his most mechanically ingenuous creations: a single key inserted at different depths unlocks the center drawer, releases the rolltop, or releases the hidden side drawers; if a button is pressed on the underside of these drawers, each swings aside to reveal three other drawers. Above the rolltop, the rectangular structure consists of a single wide drawer. The artist's creativity is evident in the chinoiserie marquetry scenes, created by using minute pieces of naturally colored exotic woods that have a painterly effect.

See Collections to learn more about this desk.

This desk is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock
(00:00:52)

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10523 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16384 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3001 views

Plate

Date:: 1739–43
Culture:: Chinese
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: Diam. 9 in. (22.9 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, Purchase, Winfield Foundation Gift, by exchange, 1978
Accession Number:: 1978.196

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 510

Description

This plate is distinguished by the lavishness of its enamel painting, and by the fact that a design for the plate's decoration survives, the only recorded instance for an armorial service.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: MLO (cipher)
Provenance

Sir Ian Walker-Okeover ; Helena Woolworth McCann
See also
What
Ceramics (29,320)

Clay (23,649)

Faience (11,698)

Porcelain (11,369)

Dishes (6,707)

Plates (3,598)

Hard paste porcelain (2,917)
Where
Asia (68,071)

China (17,417)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Central and North Asia, 1600–1800 A.D.

China, 1600–1800 A.D.