The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Object

Unfolding an Eighteenth-Century Gaming Table

This finely crafted piece of furniture has a secret. Swing out a leg, adjust an arm, and voilà! Leaves unfold to reveal multiple configurations: a felt surface for card games, a game board for chess or checkers, a desk with a leather writing surface and book rest. Tug at a hidden latch, and a spring-driven backgammon board pops up.

The brainchild of German cabinetmaker David Roentgen (1743–1807), this sophisticated gaming table once graced the intimate interior of an aristocratic European home. The exquisite piece was not only convenient for entertaining guests, but it was also portable—its legs unscrew so it can easily be packed and moved.

This 3-D animation of the table demonstrates its different configurations and illuminates its concealed features, including drawers for tucking away personal items and compartments for storing game pieces.

See Collections to learn more about this table.

This table is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013).

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10632 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16720 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3016 views

The Ascension

Michiel Coxcie (Flemish, Mechelen ca. 1499–1592 Mechelen)

Maker:: Woven by Unknown
Artist:: Related to Ascension tapestry, Vatican Scuola nuova set by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) (Italian, Urbino 1483–1520 Rome)
Artist:: Related to Small Passion woodcut probably by Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg)
Date:: 1540–45
Culture:: Flemish, Brussels
Medium:: Wool, silk, silver-gilt, silver thread (18-19 warps per inch, 7-8 per cm.)
Dimensions:: H. 120 x W. 115 inches (304.8 x 292.1 cm)
Classification:: Textiles
Credit Line:: Fletcher Fund, 1944
Accession Number:: 44.63.5

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Marking: (on guard, lower left corner; red or orange shield, BB in gold thread) Brussels mark; (in gold thread or yellow silk on right side guard, near bottom) Weaver's mark, unidentified
Provenance

Electors of Saxony, Dresden , church of the new palace (ca. 1554–1701?) ; Electors of Saxony, Brühl Palace, Dresden ( ca. 1701?–at least the 1840s) ; Königlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Dresden (ca. 1855–ca. 1924?) ; Brought to the United States by Prince Ernst Heinrich, Duke of Saxony (ca. 1925) ; [ French and Co., New York (from before 1935–44; sold to MMA) ]
See also
Who
Unknown (1,039)

Albrecht Dürer (955)

Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio Santi) (442)

Michiel Coxcie (2)
What
Metal (59,364)

Silk (32,922)

Textiles (32,752)

Silver (14,056)

Wool (9,527)

Gilt (9,043)

Tapestries (2,187)
Where
Europe (148,586)

Belgium (1,232)

Brussels (289)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,545)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Low Countries, 1400–1600 A.D.
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Unfolding an Eighteenth-Century Gaming Table

The Ascension

Michiel Coxcie (Flemish, Mechelen ca. 1499–1592 Mechelen)

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Unfolding an Eighteenth-Century Gaming Table

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The Ascension

Michiel Coxcie (Flemish, Mechelen ca. 1499–1592 Mechelen)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store