The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Merman (one of six)

Art Object

Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

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.

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Merman (one of six)

Doccia manufactory

Date:: 1750–55
Culture:: Italian (Florence)
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain, silver
Dimensions:: H. 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm.)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Purchase, The Charles E. Sampson Memorial Fund and Gift of Mrs. Harold D. Shattuck, by exchange, 1982
Accession Number:: 1982.6.5

This artwork is not on display

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Merman (one of six)

Doccia manufactory

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Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

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Merman (one of six)

Doccia manufactory

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