The Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Arms of William and Mary

Art Object

Unfolding an Eighteenth-Century Gaming Table

This finely crafted piece of furniture has a secret. Swing out a leg, adjust an arm, and voilà! Leaves unfold to reveal multiple configurations: a felt surface for card games, a game board for chess or checkers, a desk with a leather writing surface and book rest. Tug at a hidden latch, and a spring-driven backgammon board pops up.

The brainchild of German cabinetmaker David Roentgen (1743–1807), this sophisticated gaming table once graced the intimate interior of an aristocratic European home. The exquisite piece was not only convenient for entertaining guests, but it was also portable—its legs unscrew so it can easily be packed and moved.

This 3-D animation of the table demonstrates its different configurations and illuminates its concealed features, including drawers for tucking away personal items and compartments for storing game pieces.

See Collections to learn more about this table.

This table is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Video/Audio (4)

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10632 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16720 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3016 views

The Arms of William and Mary

Possibly Daniel Marot the Elder (French, Paris 1661–1752 The Hague)

Designer:: Possibly Johannes Christoph Lotijn (Dutch, active 1686–1700)
Maker:: Woven by Hieronymus Le Clerc (active 1676–1719)
Patron:: Commissioned for William III (William of Orange) (born 1650)
Date:: 1694–1700
Culture:: Flemish, Brussels
Medium:: Wool, silk, metal thread (20 warps per inch, 9 per cm.)
Dimensions:: H. 117 x W. 91 inches (297.2 x 231.1 cm)
Classification:: Textiles
Credit Line:: Samuel D. Lee Fund, 1936
Accession Number:: 36.57

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 518

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: [1] (around coat of arms, woven in silk thread) HONY SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE ("Dishonored be he that thinks ill of it"); [2] (below shield, on ribbon, woven in silk thread) IE MAINTIENDRAY ("I will maintain"; motto of the House of Orange)

Marking: [1] (below, on outer border) B (shield) B, tan letters and red shield (mark of the city of Brussels); [2] (on lower right hand edge) LE CLERC, in tan.
Provenance

Commissioned for William III (William of Orange) ; [ French and Co., New York , 1933; sold to MMA ]
See also
Who
Daniel Marot the Elder (199)

Hieronymus Le Clerc (1)

Johannes Christoph Lotijn (1)

William III (William of Orange) (1)
What
Metal (59,364)

Silk (32,922)

Textiles (32,752)

Wool (9,527)

Tapestries (2,187)
Where
Europe (148,586)

Belgium (1,232)

Brussels (289)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Low Countries, 1600–1800 A.D.
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Unfolding an Eighteenth-Century Gaming Table

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Possibly Daniel Marot the Elder (French, Paris 1661–1752 The Hague)

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Unfolding an Eighteenth-Century Gaming Table

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The Arms of William and Mary

Possibly Daniel Marot the Elder (French, Paris 1661–1752 The Hague)

Met Media

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