The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

See how this desk converts into a dressing table.

When closed, this table may not seem like one of the most complex pieces of European furniture ever made. However, once opened, its concealed drawers and hidden features are exposed, and the entire piece transforms into a dressing table, orpoudreuse. Scholars believe it was commissioned as a wedding gift from Abraham (1711–1793) and David Roentgen (1743–1807) by Friedrich August III, Elector of Saxony, to his bride in 1769.

This table, from Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Images courtesy of Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt.

Video/Audio (4)

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Longcase clock

Clockmaker: Daniel Delander (ca. 1678–1733, recorded 1692, working 1692–1721)

Date:: ca. 1720
Culture:: British, London
Medium:: Case: burl walnut veneered on oak, with walnut herringbone inlay; Dial: gilded and silvered brass; Movement: brass and steel
Dimensions:: 91 x 18 x 9 in. (231.1 x 45.7 x 22.9 cm)
Classification:: Horology
Credit Line:: Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number:: 64.101.864

This artwork is not on display

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Longcase clock

Clockmaker: Daniel Delander (ca. 1678–1733, recorded 1692, working 1692–1721)

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Longcase clock

Clockmaker: Daniel Delander (ca. 1678–1733, recorded 1692, working 1692–1721)

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