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)

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10613 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16640 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3015 views

Plate

Date:: ca. 1756
Culture:: Chinese
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: H. 1 in. (2.5 cm.); Diam. 9 in. (22.9 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, 1940
Accession Number:: 40.15.2

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: T'SCHIP.VRYBÜRG / GEVOERT:DOOR:CAPITEUN / IACOB,RYZIK / IN:CHINA.INT / IAAR.1756. (in cartouche on rim) [trans.: Ship Vryburg led by Captain Jacob Ryzik to China in the year 1756]
Provenance

[ Charles Woolsey Lyon, Inc. , New York, 1936 ] ; R. Thornton Wilson (until 1940; to MMA)
See also
What
Ceramics (29,320)

Clay (23,649)

Faience (11,698)

Porcelain (11,369)

Dishes (6,707)

Plates (3,598)

Hard paste porcelain (2,917)
Where
Asia (68,071)

China (17,417)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
China, 1600–1800 A.D.

Central and North Asia, 1600–1800 A.D.