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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Art Object
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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.

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Twelve couverts

Louis-Joseph Lenhendrick  (master 1747, died 1783)

Date:
1767–71
Culture:
French (Paris)
Medium:
Silver gilt
Dimensions:
Forks: L. 7-5/8 in. (19.4 cm.); Knives: L. 8-7/16 in. (21.4 cm.); Spoons: L. 7-1/2 in. (19.1 cm.)
Classification:
Metalwork
Credit Line:
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1979
Accession Number:
1979.396.4–.39

This artwork is not on display

  • Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

    Marking: [1] Crowned fleur-de-lis, 2 grains de remède, L L, device a column (maker's mark) [2] Crossed laurel branches (Paris charge mark for gold and small silver, 1762-68) [3] Crowned D (Paris warden's mark, 1767-68) [4] Hound's head (Paris discharge mark for gold and small silver, 1762-68) [5] Calyx surrounded by fleurons (Paris charge mark for gold and small silver, 1768-74) [6] Crowned F (Paris warden's mark, 1769-70) [7] Crowned G (Paris warden's mark, 1770-71) [8] Helmeted head (Paris discharge mark for gold and small silver, 1768-74) [9] Boar's head (Paris restricted warranty mark for silver, 1838-79) Location of marks: [1]-[4] on six spoons and six forks [5], [8] on all remaining pieces [6] on six knives [7] on five knives, six forks, six spoons

  • Provenance

    Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman (until 1979; to MMA)

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