The Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Suicide of Ajax

Art Object

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Discover the hidden features and intricate interior of this cabinet.

One of the finest achievements of European furniture making, this cabinet is the most important product from Abraham (1711–1793) and David Roentgen's (1743–1807) workshop. A writing cabinet crowned with a chiming clock, it features finely designed marquetry panels and elaborate mechanisms that allow for doors and drawers to be opened automatically at the touch of a button. Owned by King Frederick William II, the Berlin cabinet is uniquely remarkable for its ornate decoration, mechanical complexity, and sheer size.

This cabinet, from Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Footage courtesy of VideoART GmbH and Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16461 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
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The Suicide of Ajax

Giovanni Battista Foggini (Italian, Florence 1652–1725 Florence)

Date:: ca. 1690
Culture:: Italian (Florentine)
Medium:: Bronze
Dimensions:: H. 18-3/4 in. (47.6 cm.)
Classification:: Sculpture
Credit Line:: Purchase, Edith Perry Chapman Fund and Bequest of Bernard M. Baruch, by exchange, 1987
Accession Number:: 1987.13

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 550

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The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

The Suicide of Ajax

Giovanni Battista Foggini (Italian, Florence 1652–1725 Florence)

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The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

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The Suicide of Ajax

Giovanni Battista Foggini (Italian, Florence 1652–1725 Florence)

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Met Kids

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