The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

Discover the secret compartments of this writing table and see how it can be transformed into a private altar.

Perhaps the most exquisite and technically refined piece from German cabinetmaker Abraham Roentgen (1711–1793), this desk was made for his premier patron, the Catholic official Johann Philipp von Walderdorff. Its interior holds a multitude of drawers, panels, and compartments, in addition to sophisticated mechanical fittings that safeguard the elector’s privacy.

This writing table from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013). Learn more about the table: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/collectie/BK-16676/bureau-op-s-vormige-poten-versierd-met-marqueterie.

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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
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Goblet

Date:: ca. 1475–1500
Culture:: Italian, Venice, Murano
Medium:: Glass, enameled and gilded
Dimensions:: Overall (confirmed): H. 6 7/8 x W. 3 7/16 in. (17.5 x 8.7 cm); Diameter of cup: 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm)
Classification:: Glass
Credit Line:: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number:: 17.190.730a, b

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 500

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: (1) below bust of man with book in main scene: originally VEBILIO in black; apparently amended during course of enameling to VERBLIO by addition of red enamel strokes to the B and I of VEBILIO (2) VENITE (plural command, Latin, Come! or Come here! addressed to the lines of maidens.
Provenance

Alessandro Castellani (until 1884; sale, at Palais Castellani, Rome, March 17–April 10 , 1884, Deuxième partie, no. 405); E. Joseph (until 1890; sale, Christie, Manson and Wood, London, May 6, 1890, no. 96); J. Pierpont Morgan (until 1917; to MMA)
See also
What
Glass (16,037)

Gilt (9,043)

Drinking vessels (6,032)

Drinking glasses (1,102)

Goblets (258)
Where
Europe (148,586)

Italy (20,983)

Venice (1,391)

Murano (411)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,545)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Weddings in the Italian Renaissance

Art and Love in the Italian Renaissance

Venice and Northern Italy, 1400–1600 A.D.