The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

Demonstration of 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.

Video/Audio (4)

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Saint Veronica

Possibly after a design by Bernard van Orley (Netherlandish, Brussels ca. 1492–1541/42 Brussels)

Date:: ca. 1520
Culture:: Flemish, Brussels
Medium:: Wool, silk, silver, silver-gilt thread (18-21 warps per inch, 7-8 per cm.)
Dimensions:: H. 68 x W. 51 inches (172.7 x 129.5 cm)
Classification:: Textiles
Credit Line:: Bequest of George Blumenthal, 1941
Accession Number:: 41.190.80

This artwork is not on display

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Saint Veronica

Possibly after a design by Bernard van Orley (Netherlandish, Brussels ca. 1492–1541/42 Brussels)

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Demonstration of the Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Saint Veronica

Possibly after a design by Bernard van Orley (Netherlandish, Brussels ca. 1492–1541/42 Brussels)

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