The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Discover the hidden features and intricate interior of this cabinet.

One of the finest achievements of European furniture making, this cabinet is the most important product from Abraham (1711–1793) and David Roentgen's (1743–1807) workshop. A writing cabinet crowned with a chiming clock, it features finely designed marquetry panels and elaborate mechanisms that allow for doors and drawers to be opened automatically at the touch of a button. Owned by King Frederick William II, the Berlin cabinet is uniquely remarkable for its ornate decoration, mechanical complexity, and sheer size.

This cabinet, from Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Footage courtesy of VideoART GmbH and Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

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

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

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

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

Plate

Date:: ca. 1530
Culture:: Italian (Deruta)
Medium:: Maiolica (tin-enameled earthenware)
Dimensions:: Overall (confirmed): 3 3/8 x 17 1/2 in. (8.6 x 44.5 cm)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, by exchange, 1965
Accession Number:: 65.6.13

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: (On lustre scroll, in blue) RAR.SEGRETO.EMOLTO.ACETO ADIO [Much bitterness is rarely secret before God]

Marking: On underside, in center of foot (see catalogue cards).
Provenance

Miller V. Aichholz ; Charles Mannheim ; Walter von Pannwitz (by 1925) ; [ his collection through Stiebel Ltd. , sold to MMA ]
See also
What
Ceramics (29,330)

Pottery (12,858)

Dishes (6,708)

Earthenware (6,695)

Plates (3,606)

Maiolica (548)
Where
Europe (150,372)

Italy (24,960)

Umbrian (196)

Perugia (138)

Deruta (70)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,634)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,228)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Florence and Central Italy, 1400–1600 A.D.
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