The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Spice box with grater

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.

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Spice box with grater

François Duran (master ca. 1740, died 1771)

Date:: ca. 1744–45
Culture:: French (Narbonne) (Perpignan Mint)
Medium:: Silver
Dimensions:: H. 2-1/2 in. (6.4 cm.); W. 3-5/8 in. (9.2 cm.); L. 5-5/8 in. (14.3 cm.)
Classification:: Metalwork
Credit Line:: Bequest of Catherine D. Wentworth, 1948
Accession Number:: 48.187.123a, b

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: G F (engraved on base)

Marking: [1] F between 2 grains de remède, D V / R A N, a star between 2 pellets below (maker's mark) [2] Shield charged with a fleur-de-lis (charge mark of an under-farmer of Narbonne, ca. 1743-46) [3] An L, 3 pellets above, N A R below (Narbonne warden's mark, ca. 1744-45) [4] A dolphin (discharge mark of an under-farmer of Narbonne, ca. 1743-46) Location of marks: All marks on bottom and inside each cover
See also
Who
François Duran (1)
What
Metal (59,364)

Metalwork (14,716)

Silver (14,056)

Boxes (1,778)

Spice boxes (20)

Graters (15)
Where
Europe (148,586)

France (52,276)

Languedoc-Roussillon (26)

Aude (3)

Narbonne (2)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
France, 1600–1800 A.D.

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Spice box with grater

François Duran (master ca. 1740, died 1771)

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Spice box with grater

François Duran (master ca. 1740, died 1771)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store