The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Pair of saltcellars

Art Object

Demonstration of 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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Pair of saltcellars

Date:: 1755–56
Culture:: British, London
Medium:: Silver, gilt lined
Dimensions:: 3 1/2 x 4 in. (8.9 x 10.2 cm)
Classification:: Metalwork
Credit Line:: Rogers Fund, 1913
Accession Number:: 13.42.42a, b

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Marking: [1] Leopard's head, crowned; [2] u, London date letter for 1755-56; [3] Lion passant; [4] indistinct. Location of marks: [1],[2],[3],[4] underneath shell of A [1],[2],[3] underneath shell of B
Provenance

George S. Palmer (until 1913; sold to MMA)
See also
What
Metal (59,364)

Metalwork (14,716)

Silver (14,056)

Gilt (9,043)

Salts (283)

Saltcellars (129)
Where
Europe (148,586)

United Kingdom (25,557)

England (9,102)

London (2,006)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Great Britain and Ireland, 1600–1800 A.D.