The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Pen tray (part of a set)

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.

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Pen tray (part of a set)

Asprey (British, founded 1781)

Date:: 1851
Culture:: British, London
Medium:: Bronze-gilt, malachite
Dimensions:: L. 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm)
Classification:: Metalwork
Credit Line:: Purchase, Gift of Irwin Untermyer, Loretta Hines Howard and Charles Hines, in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hines, and J. Pierpont Morgan, by exchange, 1982
Accession Number:: 1982.88.2

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 556

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Pen tray (part of a set)

Asprey (British, founded 1781)

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Pen tray (part of a set)

Asprey (British, founded 1781)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store