The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Desk

Art Object

Program Information

Hidden Doors and Secret Drawers: Furniture by the Roentgens

Program information

Wolfram Koeppe, the Marina Kellen French Curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, discusses the intricate furniture designs created by Abraham and David Roentgen. The father-and-son team created innovative designs that were combined with intriguing mechanical devices to revolutionize traditional French and English furniture types.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens, on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013.

The exhibition and catalogue are made possible by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.

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David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock
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The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
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Desk

Joseph Baumhauer (master cabinetmaker, active ca. 1749–1772)

Factory:: Porcelain plaques by Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)
Decorator:: Decoration of plaques attributed to Jean-Jacques Pierre the Younger (active 1763–1800)
Date:: ca. 1770
Culture:: French (Paris and Sèvres)
Medium:: Oak, tulipwood, gilt bronze, soft-paste porcelain, leather, silk
Dimensions:: H. 29 3/4 in. (75.6 cm.), W. 34 1/2 in. (87.6 cm.), D. 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm.)
Classification:: Woodwork
Credit Line:: Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1958
Accession Number:: 58.75.47

This artwork is not on display

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