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Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

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Art Object
Program Information

Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

Program information

Discover the secret compartments of this writing table and see how it can be transformed into a private altar.

Perhaps the most exquisite and technically refined piece from German cabinetmaker Abraham Roentgen (1711–1793), this desk was made for his premier patron, the Catholic official Johann Philipp von Walderdorff. Its interior holds a multitude of drawers, panels, and compartments, in addition to sophisticated mechanical fittings that safeguard the elector’s privacy.

This writing table from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013). Learn more about the table: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/collectie/BK-16676/bureau-op-s-vormige-poten-versierd-met-marqueterie.

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

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

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

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

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

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

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Sèvres Manufactory  (French, 1740–present)

Decorator:
Nicolas-Antoine Le Bel (active 1804–45)
Artist:
After a print by Claude Nicolas Malapeau (French, Paris 1755–1803 Paris)
Artist:
After an original by Louis François Cassas (French, Azay-le-Ferron 1756–1827 Versailles)
Date:
1814
Culture:
French (Sèvres)
Medium:
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:
Diam. 9 5/8 in. (24.4 cm.)
Classification:
Ceramics
Credit Line:
Purchase, Rogers Fund; Bequests of Annie C. Kane and Emma A. Sheafer, by exchange; and Gifts in memory of John Goldsmith Phillips, 1994
Accession Number:
1994.114

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 554

120024329

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