Search the collections

Videos (3)
Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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

Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Program information

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.

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) 10652 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16792 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3020 views

Related Content

Honoré de Balzac

Honoré de Balzac

Mask of Rose Beuret

Mask of Rose Beuret

Bust of St. John the Baptist

Bust of St. John the Baptist

Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo

Mask of the Man with the Broken Nose (Masque de l'homme au nez cassé)

Mask of the Man with the Broken Nose (Masque de l'homme au nez cassé)

Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.

Exhibitions:

Events:

Events:

Bacchante (Grapes or Autumn)

Auguste Rodin  (French, Paris 1840–1917 Meudon)

Date:
ca. 1874
Culture:
French
Medium:
Terracotta, wood
Dimensions:
15-1/2 x 8-7/8 x 9-3/8 in. (39.4 x 22.5 x 23.8 cm) H. (with base) 18-3/4 in. (47.6 cm.)
Classification:
Sculpture
Credit Line:
Purchase, Charles Ulrick and Josephine Bay Foundation Inc. Gift, 1975
Accession Number:
1975.312.7

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 800

120022405

Close