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The Roentgens' Rolltop Desk

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Art Object
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The Roentgens' Rolltop Desk

Program information

Watch as this desk's hidden features are revealed.

The richly embellished surface of this rolltop desk conceals a wealth of mechanical surprises and features, including a spectacular arrangement of almost forty compartments and drawers. Abraham (1711–1793) and David Roentgen (1743–1807) designed this table not just for writing and reading but also to function as a dressing table, or poudreuse.

This table, from Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, D.C., is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Learn more about this object: http://trio.hillwoodmuseum.org/detail.php?t=objects&type=related&kv=13072

Footage courtesy of Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens.

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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

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Factory director:
Du Paquier period (1718–1744)
Date:
ca. 1735
Culture:
Austrian, Vienna
Medium:
Hard-paste porcelain painted with colored enamels over transparent glaze
Dimensions:
H. 4 in. (10.2 cm.)
Classification:
Ceramics
Credit Line:
Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, 1945
Accession Number:
45.29.1a, b

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 201

120014679

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