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.

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Clock

Clockmaker: Jean-Baptiste Lepaute (1727–1802)

Maker:: Bronzes possibly by Pierre Philippe Thomire (French, Paris 1751–1843 Paris)
Maker:: and Louis Simon Boizot (French, Paris 1743–1809 Paris)
Date:: 1775–90
Culture:: French (Paris)
Medium:: Marble, bronze and gilt-bronze
Dimensions:: 28-3/8 x 10 x 10 in. (72.1 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm)
Classification:: Horology
Credit Line:: Bequest of Ogden Mills, 1929
Accession Number:: 29.180.4

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 528

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Signature: Lepaute Paris (on movement) (see image)
Provenance

Sir John Edward Murray Scott, Bt. (until 1913; Sir John Murray Scott collection sale, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, June 24, 1913, no. 31, M.M.A. clock, sold to Hodgkins for £892/10/-); Hodgkins (from 1913) ; Ogden Mills (until 1929; bequeathed to MMA)
See also
Who
Pierre Philippe Thomire (11)

Louis Simon Boizot (8)

Jean-Baptiste Lepaute (3)
What
Metal (59,483)

Copper alloy (16,678)

Bronze (11,670)

Plate (2,673)

Marble (2,133)

Ormolu (1,683)

Timepieces (1,121)

Clocks (611)
Where
Europe (150,372)

France (49,614)

Paris (2,005)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (67,128)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,228)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
France, 1600–1800 A.D.
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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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