The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Armchair from Louis XVI's Salon des Jeux at Saint Cloud

Art Object

Program Information

Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Program information

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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Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.

CANCELED: Exhibition Tour—Plain or Fancy?: Restraint and Exuberance in the Decorative Arts
June 20, 2013
Gallery Talk and Demonstration—Roentgen Furniture
July 12, 2013
Summer Sketching—European Sculpture (Ages 11–18)
July 24, 2013
Exhibition Tour—Plain or Fancy?: Restraint and Exuberance in the Decorative Arts
July 25, 2013
Conversation with a Curator and a Conservator—The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
August 2, 2013
Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution
August 6, 2013

Armchair from Louis XVI's Salon des Jeux at Saint Cloud

Georges Jacob (1739–1814, master 1765)

Maker:: Gilder: Louis-François Chatard (ca. 1749–1819)
Date:: 1788
Culture:: French (Paris)
Medium:: Carved and gilded walnut; gold brocaded silk (not original)
Dimensions:: 39-3/8 x 29-1/2 x 25-5/8 in. (100.0 x 74.9 x 65.1 cm)
Classification:: Woodwork
Credit Line:: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1906
Accession Number:: 07.225.107

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Signature: G. IACOB

Marking: On the inside of back rail is pasted an old label which reads: Garde Meuble de la Couronne Ordre No. 99 du 25 février 1788 Fauteuil Meublant pour Le Salon des Jeux du Roi à St. Cloud
Provenance

Le Salon des Jeux du Roi, Château de Saint-Cloud, FranceLouis XVI, King of France (1788–89) ; Georges Hoentschel
See also
Who
Georges Jacob (26)

Louis-François Chatard (11)
What
Metal (59,501)

Silk (34,060)

Gold (12,361)

Gilt (9,077)

Wood (7,066)

Furniture (5,724)

Woodwork (2,577)

Seating furniture (1,795)

Chairs (1,489)

Walnut (978)

Armchairs (548)
Where
Europe (150,651)

France (50,180)

Paris (2,005)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (67,139)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,228)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
France, 1600–1800 A.D.
MetPublications
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