The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Back of a chasuble

Art Object

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Discover the hidden features and intricate interior of this cabinet.

One of the finest achievements of European furniture making, this cabinet is the most important product from Abraham (1711–1793) and David Roentgen's (1743–1807) workshop. A writing cabinet crowned with a chiming clock, it features finely designed marquetry panels and elaborate mechanisms that allow for doors and drawers to be opened automatically at the touch of a button. Owned by King Frederick William II, the Berlin cabinet is uniquely remarkable for its ornate decoration, mechanical complexity, and sheer size.

This cabinet, from Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

Footage courtesy of VideoART GmbH and Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

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

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

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

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

Back of a chasuble

Date:: 1525–50
Culture:: Flemish, possibly Brussels
Medium:: Wool, silk, silver and silver-gilt thread (19-20 warps per inch, 8-9 per cm.)
Dimensions:: L. 48 1/2 x W. 38 inches (123.2 x 96.5 cm)
Classification:: Textiles
Credit Line:: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1936
Accession Number:: 36.46.1

This artwork is not on display

Provenance

Baron A.J.L. van den Bogaerde van Terbruggen (sale, Bois le Duc, September 25, 1901, no. 147) ; [ Charles of London , New York, 1912 ] ; Thomas Fortune Ryan (until 1933; Ryan sale, American Art Association, New York, November 23–25, 1933, no. 321); [ Dalva Brothers, Inc. , New York,1936; sold to MMA ]
See also
What
Metal (59,483)

Costume (43,395)

Silk (33,873)

Textiles (32,894)

Silver (14,046)

Wool (9,994)

Gilt (9,077)

Tapestries (2,190)

Vestments (287)

Chasubles (147)
Where
Europe (150,372)

Belgium (1,155)

Brussels (289)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,634)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,228)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Low Countries, 1400–1600 A.D.
MetPublications
Search for related Met publications