The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Plate from the "Service Des Départements"

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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Plate from the "Service Des Départements"

Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)

Date:: 1827
Culture:: French
Medium:: Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions:: Diameter: 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Purchase, Mrs. Sid R. Bass Gift, in honor of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2002
Accession Number:: 2002.57

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 554

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Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

Plate from the "Service Des Départements"

Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)

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Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

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Plate from the "Service Des Départements"

Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)

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Met Store