The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Baptismal basin or font

Art Object

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

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).

Video/Audio (4)

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 11489 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 18049 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3142 views

Baptismal basin or font

Date:: 16th century
Culture:: German
Medium:: Pewter
Dimensions:: 14 1/2 x 3 3/4 in. (36.8 x 9.5 cm)
Classification:: Metalwork
Credit Line:: Rogers Fund, 1906
Accession Number:: 06.731

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: [on margin]: ANNA MARIA GRUBENDSÖE (donor's name); [on outside of raised ring]: WER GLAUBET UND GETAUFT WIRD DER WIRD SELIG WERDEN ("He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved"—Mark XVI:16)

Marking: [on bottom]: [1] oval disk showing Imperial eagle having on his breast shield of House of Austria; [2] (bis) larger oval showing slipped lily between letters and figures: DC / AS, 3/3
Provenance

Lady Selina Hervey
See also
What
Metal (59,501)

Vessels (21,925)

Metalwork (14,681)

Pewter (811)

Basins (154)

Baptismal basins (5)
Where
Europe (150,651)

Germany (16,005)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,608)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,228)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Central Europe (including Germany), 1400–1600 A.D.
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