The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Video/Audio (4)

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

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 10613 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 16640 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3015 views

Panel

Date:: 1875
Culture:: French (St. Etienne)
Medium:: Silk
Dimensions:: H. 8 3/4 x W. 5 1/8 inches (22.2 x 13.0 cm)
Classification:: Textiles
Credit Line:: Gift of Mrs. Elisa Parada de Migel, 1959
Accession Number:: 59.25.7

This artwork is not on display

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: (on banneret above shield) 1re Session Provinciale/Congrès Des Orientalistes/St. Etienne 19.25 8bre/1875/; (below shield) OFFERT PAR LA VILLE DE ST. ETIENNE
Provenance

Mrs. Elisa Parada de Migel (until 1959; to MMA)
See also
What
Silk (32,922)

Textiles (32,752)

Woven (11,528)

Panels (2,843)
Where
Europe (148,586)

France (52,276)
When
A.D. 1800-1900 (80,185)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
France, 1800–1900 A.D.