The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

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).

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Teapot with cover

Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)

Decorator:: Louis-Antoine Le Grand (active 1776–1824)
Date:: 1780
Culture:: French (Sèvres)
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: H. with cover 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, 1954
Accession Number:: 54.147.16a, b

This artwork is not on display

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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

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Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)

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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

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Teapot with cover

Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)

Met Media

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Met Store