The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Dish (part of a service)

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.

Video/Audio (4)

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10583 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16547 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3012 views

Dish (part of a service)

Date:: ca. 1737
Culture:: Chinese
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: W. 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Gift of Mary Knight Arnold, 1978
Accession Number:: 1978.520.3

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 510

Description

The arms on this dish are those of James, fifth duke of Hamilton (1702/3-1743), and it is possible that this dish is part of a large service created for him at the time of his marriage to his third wife in 1737.
Provenance

Dukes of Hamilton (until 1919; sale, Christie's, London, November 5, 1919, no. 5; to Thomas); Thomas (from 1919) ; Mary Knight Arnold (until 1978; to MMA)
See also
What
Ceramics (29,320)

Clay (23,649)

Faience (11,698)

Porcelain (11,369)

Dishes (6,707)

Hard paste porcelain (2,917)
Where
Asia (68,071)

China (17,417)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Central and North Asia, 1600–1800 A.D.

China, 1600–1800 A.D.