The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

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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Auguste Rodin (French, Paris 1840–1917 Meudon)

Date:: first modeled probably ca. 1884, date of this marble unknown
Culture:: French
Medium:: Marble
Dimensions:: L. 23-1/2 in. (59.7 cm.) W. 21-1/2 in. (54.6 cm.)
Classification:: Sculpture
Credit Line:: Gift of Richard Anthony Strong and Alexander Milliken Stewart, 1938
Accession Number:: 38.132

This artwork is not on display

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Auguste Rodin (French, Paris 1840–1917 Meudon)

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Auguste Rodin (French, Paris 1840–1917 Meudon)

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