The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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La Négresse

Workshop of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, Valenciennes 1827–1875 Courbevoie)

Date:: 1872
Culture:: French, Auteuil
Medium:: Cast terracotta
Dimensions:: H. 24 in. (61 cm.)
Classification:: Sculpture
Credit Line:: Gift of James S. Deely, 1997, in memory of Patricia Johnson Deely, 1997
Accession Number:: 1997.491

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 556

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

La Négresse

Workshop of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, Valenciennes 1827–1875 Courbevoie)

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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La Négresse

Workshop of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, Valenciennes 1827–1875 Courbevoie)

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