The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Couple dressed as Persians

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.

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June 20, 2013
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July 12, 2013
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July 24, 2013
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Couple dressed as Persians

Mennecy

Modeler:: Model attributed to Mathieu Simon (active 1756–63)
Date:: ca. 1760
Culture:: French (Mennecy)
Medium:: Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: (.366): H. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm.) (.367): H. 9 5/8 in. (24.4 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982
Accession Number:: 1982.60.366, .367

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 543

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