Search the collections

Videos (3)
The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Close

<p>Please enable flash to view this media. <a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/">Download the flash player.</a></p>

Please enable flash to view this media. Download the flash player.

Art Object
Program Information

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Program information

Discover the hidden features and intricate interior of this cabinet.

One of the finest achievements of European furniture making, this cabinet is the most important product from Abraham (1711–1793) and David Roentgen's (1743–1807) workshop. A writing cabinet crowned with a chiming clock, it features finely designed marquetry panels and elaborate mechanisms that allow for doors and drawers to be opened automatically at the touch of a button. Owned by King Frederick William II, the Berlin cabinet is uniquely remarkable for its ornate decoration, mechanical complexity, and sheer size.

This cabinet, from Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Footage courtesy of VideoART GmbH and Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10523 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16384 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3001 views

Related Content

The Tub

The Tub

Horse at Trough

Horse at Trough

First Arabesque Penchée

First Arabesque Penchée

La Masseuese

La Masseuese

Seated Woman Wiping her Left Hip

Seated Woman Wiping her Left Hip

Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.

Exhibitions:

Events:

Events:

First Arabesque Penché

Edgar Degas  (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris)

Date:
probably modeled ca. 1892–96, cast in 1920
Culture:
French
Medium:
Bronze
Dimensions:
17-1/4 x 21-1/2 x 9-5/8 in. (43.8 x 54.6 x 24.4 cm.)
Classification:
Sculpture
Credit Line:
H.O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H.O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number:
29.100.390

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 814

120011305

Close