The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

The Roentgens' Rolltop Desk

Watch as this desk's hidden features are revealed.

The richly embellished surface of this rolltop desk conceals a wealth of mechanical surprises and features, including a spectacular arrangement of almost forty compartments and drawers. Abraham (1711–1793) and David Roentgen (1743–1807) designed this table not just for writing and reading but also to function as a dressing table, or poudreuse.

This table, from Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, D.C., is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Learn more about this object: http://trio.hillwoodmuseum.org/detail.php?t=objects&type=related&kv=13072

Footage courtesy of Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens.

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock
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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3001 views

Armchair

Chair frame by the firm of Joseph-Pierre- François Jeanselme (1824–1860)

Maker:: Upholstery by the firm of Jacques-Michel Dulud
Date:: ca. 1850
Culture:: French (Paris)
Medium:: Carved rosewood, leather, silk, serge
Dimensions:: 51-1/2 x 25-5/8 x 24-1/2 in. (130.8 x 65.1 x 62.2 cm)
Classification:: Woodwork
Credit Line:: Purchase, Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Gifts and Director's Discretionary Fund, 1995
Accession Number:: 1995.164

This artwork is not on display

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The Roentgens' Rolltop Desk

Armchair

Chair frame by the firm of Joseph-Pierre- François Jeanselme (1824–1860)

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The Roentgens' Rolltop Desk

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Armchair

Chair frame by the firm of Joseph-Pierre- François Jeanselme (1824–1860)

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