The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Hercules and Achelous (in the form of a bull)

Art Object

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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Hercules and Achelous (in the form of a bull)

Attributed to the Master of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian (Austrian)

Date:: ca. 1670
Culture:: Austrian
Medium:: Ivory
Dimensions:: H. 3 in., W. 2 1/2 in.
Classification:: Sculpture
Credit Line:: Purchase, Mrs. Sid R. Bass, Mrs. Oscar de la Renta and Mrs. Walter Annenberg Gifts, in honor of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2003
Accession Number:: 2003.235

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 537

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Hercules and Achelous (in the form of a bull)

Attributed to the Master of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian (Austrian)

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Hercules and Achelous (in the form of a bull)

Attributed to the Master of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian (Austrian)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store