The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Video/Audio (4)

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Child

Probably by Pierino da Vinci (1521?–1554)

Date:: 15th–16th century
Culture:: Italian (Florence)
Medium:: Painted stucco
Dimensions:: 15-1/4 x 13-1/4 in. (38.7 x 33.7 cm)
Classification:: Sculpture
Credit Line:: Gift of Archer M. Huntington in memory of his father, Collis Potter Huntington, 1926
Accession Number:: 26.101.8

This artwork is not on display

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Probably by Pierino da Vinci (1521?–1554)

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Child

Probably by Pierino da Vinci (1521?–1554)

Met Media

Met Kids

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