The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Jugate busts of Czarevitch Paul and Maria Feodorovna of Russia

Art Object

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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Jugate busts of Czarevitch Paul and Maria Feodorovna of Russia

James Tassie (British, Glasgow, Scotland 1735–1799 London)

Artist:: After an original by Empress Maria Feodorovna (Russian, 1759–1828)
Date:: 1791
Culture:: British, London
Medium:: Cast glass
Dimensions:: Overall: 2 11/16 x 2 3/16 x 7/16 in. (6.8 x 5.5 x 1.1 cm); 68 x 55.4 x 11.1 mm
Classification:: Glass
Credit Line:: Funds from various donors, 1999
Accession Number:: 1999.525

This artwork is not on display

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Jugate busts of Czarevitch Paul and Maria Feodorovna of Russia

James Tassie (British, Glasgow, Scotland 1735–1799 London)

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Jugate busts of Czarevitch Paul and Maria Feodorovna of Russia

James Tassie (British, Glasgow, Scotland 1735–1799 London)

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