The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

The Roentgens' Rolltop Desk

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.

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10523 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16384 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3001 views

Denis Diderot

Jean Antoine Houdon (French, Versailles 1741–1828 Paris)

Date:: 1773
Culture:: French (Paris)
Medium:: Marble
Dimensions:: H. (of bust) 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.); H. (of base) 4 11/16 in. (11.8 cm.)
Classification:: Sculpture
Credit Line:: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1974
Accession Number:: 1974.291

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 528

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Signature: On edge: "Mr. Diderot, fait en 1773 par houdon"

Inscription: Inscribed on front of plinth below socle: "il eut de grands Amis et, quelques bas jaloux le Soleil plaît à l'aigle, et blesse les hiboux."
Provenance

Count Alexander Sergei Stroganov ; Stroganov Family (until ca. 1918) ; Stroganov Palace Museum / Hermitage (until 1931; sale of Stroganov collection belonging to Soviets, Rudolph Lepke's Auction House, Berlin, May 12, 1931, no. 225); Thomas Fortune Ryan ; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman (until 1974; to MMA)
See also
Who
Jean Antoine Houdon (23)
What
Sculpture (24,350)

Figures (5,008)

Marble (2,128)

Busts (553)
Where
Europe (148,587)

France (52,276)

Paris (2,025)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Jean–Antoine Houdon (1741–1828)

The Neoclassical Temple

France, 1600–1800 A.D.
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The Roentgens' Rolltop Desk

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Jean Antoine Houdon (French, Versailles 1741–1828 Paris)

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The Roentgens' Rolltop Desk

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Denis Diderot

Jean Antoine Houdon (French, Versailles 1741–1828 Paris)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store