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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Pair of cameos

Georges Tonnellier (1858–1937)

Date:: 1894
Culture:: French
Medium:: Sardonyx
Dimensions:: Diameter (confirmed): 1 7/8 in. (4.7 cm); 47.3 mm Diameter (confirmed): 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm); 46.1 mm
Classification:: Lapidary Work
Credit Line:: Purchase, Assunta Sommella Peluso, Ignazio Peluso, Ada Peluso and Romano I. Peluso Gift, 2007
Accession Number:: 2007.367.1, .2

This artwork is not on display

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

Pair of cameos

Georges Tonnellier (1858–1937)

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The Roentgens' Dressing Table (Poudreuse)

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Pair of cameos

Georges Tonnellier (1858–1937)

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