The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

Hidden Doors and Secret Drawers: Furniture by the Roentgens

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.

Video/Audio (4)

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10632 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16720 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3016 views

L'Indifferent

Meissen Manufactory (German, 1710–present)

Modeler:: Johann Joachim Kändler (German, Fischbach 1706–1775 Meissen)
Artist:: After a print by Gérard Jean-Baptiste Scotin (French, Paris 1698–after 1755)
Artist:: After a composition by Antoine Watteau (French, Valenciennes 1684–1721 Nogent-sur-Marne)
Date:: modeled 1738, this example ca. 1744
Culture:: German (Meissen)
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: H. 7-1/4 in. (18.4 cm)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number:: 64.101.83

This artwork is not on display

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Hidden Doors and Secret Drawers: Furniture by the Roentgens

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L'Indifferent

Meissen Manufactory (German, 1710–present)

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