The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Wine bottle cooler (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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Wine bottle cooler (one of a pair)

Doccia manufactory

Date:: ca. 1760–70
Culture:: Italian, Florence
Medium:: Tin-glazed hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: H. 7 7/16 in. (18.9 cm.); Diam. foot 5 1/16 in. (12.9 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Gift of Mrs. Nereo Fioratti, in memory of her mother, Ruth Costantino, 1985
Accession Number:: 1985.384.2

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 508

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Doccia manufactory

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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