Search the collections

Videos (3)
The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Close

<p>Please enable flash to view this media. <a href="http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/">Download the flash player.</a></p>

Please enable flash to view this media. Download the flash player.

Art Object
Program Information

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

Program information

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

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 11489 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 18049 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3142 views

Related Content

Fragment

Fragment

Piece

Piece

Border

Border

Piece

Piece

Piece

Piece

Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.

Exhibitions:

Events:

Events:

Piece

Date:
19th century
Culture:
Russian or French
Medium:
Silk and metal thread
Dimensions:
L. 21 1/2 x W. 4 1/4 inches (54.6 x 10.8 cm)
Classification:
Textiles
Credit Line:
Gift of The United Piece Dye Works, 1936
Accession Number:
36.90.1071

This artwork is not on display

120041851

Close