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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

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
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Exhibitions:

Events:

Events:

Potpourri vase (Pot-pourri gondole)

Sèvres Manufactory  (French, 1740–present)

Designer:
Model attributed to Jean-Claude Duplessis (ca. 1695–1774, active 1748–74)
Decorator:
Figure decoration attributed to Charles-Nicholas Dodin (born 1734, active 1754–1803)
Date:
1756–57
Culture:
French, Sèvres
Medium:
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions:
Overall, body with lid (confirmed): 12 3/16 x 14 1/4 x 7 3/4 in. (31 x 36.2 x 19.7 cm) Overall, base (confirmed): 2 5/16 x 9 x 5 1/4 in. (5.9 x 22.9 x 13.3 cm) Height assembled (confirmed): 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm)
Classification:
Ceramics
Credit Line:
Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1958
Accession Number:
58.75.88a–c

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 529

120017537

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