The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Indian parrot (one of a pair)

Art Object

Demonstration of 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.

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Indian parrot (one of a pair)

Meissen Manufactory (German, 1710–present)

Modeler:: Johann Joachim Kändler (German, Fischbach 1706–1775 Meissen)
Date:: 1741
Culture:: German (Meissen)
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: H. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973
Accession Number:: 1974.356.339

This artwork is not on display

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Meissen Manufactory (German, 1710–present)

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Indian parrot (one of a pair)

Meissen Manufactory (German, 1710–present)

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