The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Saints Peter and Andrew

Art Object

Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

Discover the secret compartments of this writing table and see how it can be transformed into a private altar.

Perhaps the most exquisite and technically refined piece from German cabinetmaker Abraham Roentgen (1711–1793), this desk was made for his premier patron, the Catholic official Johann Philipp von Walderdorff. Its interior holds a multitude of drawers, panels, and compartments, in addition to sophisticated mechanical fittings that safeguard the elector’s privacy.

This writing table from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is featured in the exhibition Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens (on view October 30, 2012–January 27, 2013). Learn more about the table: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/collectie/BK-16676/bureau-op-s-vormige-poten-versierd-met-marqueterie.

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Saints Peter and Andrew

Probably by Giuseppe Picano (1732–1810)

Date:: 1780s
Culture:: Italian (Naples)
Medium:: Terracotta, traces of ground or white wash
Classification:: Sculpture
Credit Line:: Purchase, Assunta Sommella Peluso, Ignazio Peluso, Ada Peluso and Romano I. Peluso Gift, 2010
Accession Number:: 2010.70.1, .2

This artwork is not on display

Provenance

[ Heim Gallery, London (until 1978; sold to Sackler) ] ; Arthur M. Sackler (from 1978) ; [ Arthur M. Sackler sale, Sotheby's, New York , January 29 1010, lot #469; sold to MMA ]
See also
Who
Giuseppe Picano (3)
What
Sculpture (24,350)

Clay (23,649)

Terracotta (8,373)

Statues (4,078)

Figurines (3,249)
Where
Europe (148,586)

Italy (20,983)

Naples (409)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,257)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Rome and Southern Italy, 1600–1800 A.D.

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Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

Saints Peter and Andrew

Probably by Giuseppe Picano (1732–1810)

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Abraham Roentgen's Writing Desk

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Saints Peter and Andrew

Probably by Giuseppe Picano (1732–1810)

Met Media

Met Kids

Met Store