Search the collections

Videos (3)
Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

Close

<p>Please enable flash to view this media. <a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/">Download the flash player.</a></p>

Please enable flash to view this media. Download the flash player.

Art Object
Program Information

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

Program information

The inventive talents of David Roentgen are evident in this exceptionally refined desk. The monogram "DR" inlaid beneath the keyhole on the lower drawer indicates the cabinetmaker's satisfaction with one of his most mechanically ingenuous creations: a single key inserted at different depths unlocks the center drawer, releases the rolltop, or releases the hidden side drawers; if a button is pressed on the underside of these drawers, each swings aside to reveal three other drawers. Above the rolltop, the rectangular structure consists of a single wide drawer. The artist's creativity is evident in the chinoiserie marquetry scenes, created by using minute pieces of naturally colored exotic woods that have a painterly effect.

See Collections to learn more about this desk.

This desk is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

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

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

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

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

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

Related Content

Plate (part of a dining service)

Plate (part of a dining service)

Plate (part of a dining service)

Plate (part of a dining service)

Dish lining (part of a dining service)

Dish lining (part of a dining service)

Dish with cover (part of a dining service)

Dish with cover (part of a dining service)

Dish with cover (part of dining service)

Dish with cover (part of dining service)

Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.

Exhibitions:

Events:

Events:

Circular dish with cover (part of a dining service)

Martin-Guillaume Biennais  (1764–1843, active ca. 1796–1819)

Date:
ca. 1805
Culture:
French (Paris)
Medium:
Silver gilt
Dimensions:
H. 5-1/2 in. (14.0 cm.); Diam. 7-1/4 in. (18.4 cm.)
Classification:
Metalwork
Credit Line:
Gift of Audrey B. Love, in memory of her husband, C. Ruxton Love Jr., 1974
Accession Number:
1974.378.8a, b

This artwork is not on display

  • Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

    Inscription: [1] Biennais Orfévre [sic] de S.M. l'Empereur et. Roi à paris (on inside cover) [2] BIENNAIS (on underside of dish)

    Marking: [1] a B, 2 pellets, a monkey, in a lozenge (maker's mark of Biennais) [2] Head of Apollo with numeral 1, in an oval (unofficial assay mark for first standard silver, 1794-97) [3] A cock, flanked by A and I, in a vertical octagon (official assay mark for first standard silver, 1798-1809) [4] A man's head, flanked by numerals 8 and 5 reversed and inverted, in a circle (excise mark for medium-sized work, 1798-1809) Location of marks: [1]-[4] underside of dish [2]-[3] inside cover [4] outer rim of cover

  • Provenance

    Mrs. Hamilton L. Hoppin ; Erving and Van Rensselaer Pruyn ; Audrey B. Love (until 1974; to MMA)

  • See also
    Who
    What
    Where
    When
    In the Museum
    Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
120022332

Close