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.

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Burse

Date:: 18th century
Culture:: Italian, probably Sicily
Medium:: Silk and metal thread
Dimensions:: Without tassels: L. 9 1/4 x W. 9 1/2 inches (23.5 x 24.1 cm)
Classification:: Textiles
Credit Line:: Gift of Catherine M. Randazzo Guirreri and John J. Randazzo, in memory of the Saverio Randazzo Family, 1984
Accession Number:: 1984.462.4

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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