The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Pomade pot with cover

Art Object

The Roentgens' Rolltop Desk

Watch as this desk's hidden features are revealed.

The richly embellished surface of this rolltop desk conceals a wealth of mechanical surprises and features, including a spectacular arrangement of almost forty compartments and drawers. Abraham (1711–1793) and David Roentgen (1743–1807) designed this table not just for writing and reading but also to function as a dressing table, or poudreuse.

This table, from Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, D.C., is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Learn more about this object: http://trio.hillwoodmuseum.org/detail.php?t=objects&type=related&kv=13072

Footage courtesy of Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens.

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 11562 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 18147 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3152 views

Pomade pot with cover

Date:: 1735–40
Culture:: French (Chantilly)
Medium:: Tin-glazed soft-paste porcelain, silver
Dimensions:: Overall (confirmed): 1 7/8 x 2 x 2 in. (4.8 x 5.1 x 5.1 cm)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Gift of Catherine Hannon Auchincloss, 1993
Accession Number:: 1993.58.1a, b

This artwork is not on display

Description

The widespread use of beauty products in eighteenth-century France inspired the creation of porcelain toilet jars, or pots à fard, in different sizes, sometimes provided with silver mounts.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Marking: [1] Hunting horn (in red, on bottom) [2] Dog's head (Paris discharge mark for small work, 1732-38, on silver rim of body and cover)
Provenance

Catherine Hannon Auchincloss (until 1993; to MMA)
See also
What
Metal (59,497)

Ceramics (29,329)

Clay (23,630)

Vessels (21,925)

Silver (14,047)

Faience (11,688)

Porcelain (11,377)

Glazing (3,103)

Soft paste porcelain (2,020)

Pots (619)
Where
Europe (150,419)

France (49,644)

Picardy (126)

Chantilly (89)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (67,116)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,228)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
France, 1600–1800 A.D.
MetPublications
Search for related Met publications