The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Potpourri vase with candleholders (Pot-pourri à bobêche) (one of a pair)

Art Object

Program Information

Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

Program information

Discover the secret compartments of this writing table and see how it can be transformed into a private altar.

Perhaps the most exquisite and technically refined piece from German cabinetmaker Abraham Roentgen (1711–1793), this desk was made for his premier patron, the Catholic official Johann Philipp von Walderdorff. Its interior holds a multitude of drawers, panels, and compartments, in addition to sophisticated mechanical fittings that safeguard the elector’s privacy.

This writing table from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013). Learn more about the table: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/collectie/BK-16676/bureau-op-s-vormige-poten-versierd-met-marqueterie.

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock
(00:00:52)

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 11562 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 18147 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3152 views

Related Content

Potpourri vase with candleholders (Pot-pourri à bobêche) (one of a pair)

Potpourri vase with candleholders (Pot-pourri à bobêche) (one of a pair)

Potpourri vase (Pot-pourri gondole)

Potpourri vase (Pot-pourri gondole)

Potpourri vase (Pot-pourri à vaisseau)

Potpourri vase (Pot-pourri à vaisseau)

Vase with cover (Vase potpourri triangle) (one of a pair)

Vase with cover (Vase potpourri triangle) (one of a pair)

Vase with cover (Vase potpourri triangle) (one of a pair)

Vase with cover (Vase potpourri triangle) (one of a pair)

Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.

CANCELED: Exhibition Tour—Plain or Fancy?: Restraint and Exuberance in the Decorative Arts
June 20, 2013
Gallery Talk and Demonstration—Roentgen Furniture
July 12, 2013
Summer Sketching—European Sculpture (Ages 11–18)
July 24, 2013
Exhibition Tour—Plain or Fancy?: Restraint and Exuberance in the Decorative Arts
July 25, 2013
Conversation with a Curator and a Conservator—The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
August 2, 2013
Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution
August 6, 2013

Potpourri vase with candleholders (Pot-pourri à bobêche) (one of a pair)

Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)

Engraver:: Model attributed to Jean-Claude Duplessis (ca. 1695–1774, active 1748–74)
Decorator:: Figural decoration probably by Charles-Nicholas Dodin (born 1734, active 1754–1803)
Date:: 1759–60
Culture:: French, Sèvres
Medium:: Soft-paste porcelain.
Dimensions:: Overall (confirmed): 9 5/8 x 6 1/16 x 3 5/8 in. (24.4 x 15.4 x 9.2 cm)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1958
Accession Number:: 58.75.94

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 529

120017543