The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Two-handled bowl (part of a set)

Art Object

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

The inventive talents of David Roentgen are evident in this exceptionally refined desk. The monogram "DR" inlaid beneath the keyhole on the lower drawer indicates the cabinetmaker's satisfaction with one of his most mechanically ingenuous creations: a single key inserted at different depths unlocks the center drawer, releases the rolltop, or releases the hidden side drawers; if a button is pressed on the underside of these drawers, each swings aside to reveal three other drawers. Above the rolltop, the rectangular structure consists of a single wide drawer. The artist's creativity is evident in the chinoiserie marquetry scenes, created by using minute pieces of naturally colored exotic woods that have a painterly effect.

See Collections to learn more about this desk.

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

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 11562 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 18147 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3152 views

Two-handled bowl (part of a set)

Date:: Porcelain 1573–1620; mounts ca. 1585
Culture:: Chinese with British (London) mounts
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain, silver gilt
Dimensions:: H: 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm.), Diam: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm.), Diam. with handles: 13 in. (33 cm.)
Classification:: Metalwork
Credit Line:: Rogers Fund, 1944
Accession Number:: 44.14.5

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 510

Description

A magnificent house and its rich furnishings were an essential expression of power in the sixteenth century. This group of Chinese porcelain with finely-worked mounts is associated with the family of Elizabeth I’s adviser, William Cecil, Lord Burghley. The pieces may have been a bequest from the colonizer of Virginia, Sir Walter Raleigh, to Lord Burghley’s son Robert.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Marking: unmarked
Provenance

William Cecil, Lord Burghley , Burghley, Northamptonshire, England ; Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter ; William Alleyne Cecil, 3rd Marquis of Exeter ; [ Exeter Sale, Christie's, London , June 7–8, 1888, 256-59; sold to Agnew ] ; William Agnew (in 1888) ; J. Pierpont Morgan ; J. P. Morgan Jr.
See also
What
Metal (59,497)

Clay (23,630)

Metalwork (14,681)

Silver (14,047)

Faience (11,688)

Porcelain (11,377)

Gilt (9,077)

Bowls (5,013)

Hard paste porcelain (2,916)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,608)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,228)
MetPublications
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