Search the collections

Videos (3)
The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Close

<p>Please enable flash to view this media. <a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/">Download the flash player.</a></p>

Please enable flash to view this media. Download the flash player.

Art Object
Program Information

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Program information

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

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10549 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16461 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3008 views

Related Content

The Toilet of Psyche

The Toilet of Psyche

The Wedding Feast of Cupid and Psyche

The Wedding Feast of Cupid and Psyche

Salt with scene of infant harvesters (one of a pair)

Salt with scene of infant harvesters (one of a pair)

Saltcellar (one of a pair)

Saltcellar (one of a pair)

Scenes from the Life of Joseph

Scenes from the Life of Joseph

Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.

Exhibitions:

Events:

Events:

The Wedding Feast of Cupid and Psyche

Pierre Reymond  (born 1513, working 1537, died after 1584)

Date:
ca. 1570
Culture:
French (Limoges)
Medium:
Painted enamel on copper, partly gilt
Dimensions:
Diam. 12 1/8 in. (30.8 cm.)
Classification:
Enamels
Credit Line:
The F.O. Matthiessen Collection, Gift of Mrs. Emma Matthiessen, in memory of her husband, 1904
Accession Number:
04.6.7

This artwork is not on display

120003289

Close