Writing Table with Mechanical Fittings (table mécanique or schreibtisch)

partly c. 1779, partly 19th century

David Roentgen

Cabinetmaker, German, 1743 - 1807

Anonymous Artist

Cabinetmaker

French 19th Century

Cabinetmaker

German 19th Century

Cabinetmaker

A rectangular golden-brown wood table has three shallow drawers in a row under the top surface, which is inlaid to create a scene, though details are difficult to make out in this photograph. The center drawer is the widest, and all three are inlaid with a horizontal grid of diamonds and outlined with a border of darker wood. Gold-colored metal mounts cap the feet, and gold ornament edges the tabletop and parts of the drawers, including the keyholes and handles. Metal ornaments above the front legs have mirrored palms framed by vines that curve into shapes of harps. The fluted legs taper below the drawers.

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The Roentgen family of Germany produced exquisite furniture with ingenious mechanical fittings, coveted by aristocratic patrons throughout 18th-century Europe. The panel that forms the top of this table probably originally adorned the front of a tall cabinet acquired by King Louis XVI of France. When the cabinet was dismantled after the French Revolution, its parts were incorporated into new furniture. In this panel of marquetry, the variously colored sections were cut and arranged to resemble an illusionistic painting of spirited young musicians. The small patch at the top center marks the former cabinet's keyhole. The Widener collection also includes a writing table that belonged to Louis's queen, Marie Antoinette.
On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G11

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oak carcass; pictorial marquetry principally of sycamore, rosewood, applewood with some traces of coloring, and boxwood; table veneered principally with tulipwood, amboyna, ebony, and boxwood; interior fittings of Cuban mahogany; gilded bronze and brass mounts; steel mechanical fitments

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 76.7 x 143 x 75.5 cm (30 3/16 x 56 5/16 x 29 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1942.9.416

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Arthur Seymour. (Duveen Brothers, Inc., New York); inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, after purchase 9 December 1915 by funds of the estate; gift 1942 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1973

  • François Boucher in North American Collections: One Hundred Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Art Institute of Chicago, 1973-1974, not in catalogue or brochure (shown only in Washington).

Bibliography

1980

  • Greber, Josef Maria. Abraham und David Roentgen, Möbel für Europa. Starnberg, 1980: 2:pls. 623-624.

1994

  • Himmelheber, Georg. "Roentgens Prunkmöbel für Ludwig XVI." Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 57, no. 3 (1994): 466, 467 figs. 5(detail) and 6, 468.

1998

  • Croll, Gerhard. "Intarsierte Musik - Musikalische Marketerien. Eine Pergolesi-Arie 1776 bei David Roentgen." In Österreichische Musik. Beiträge zur Musikgeschichte Mitteleuropas. Theophil Antonicek zum 60. Geburtstag. Tutzing, 1998: 185.

2000

  • Ramond, Pierre. Masterpieces of Marquetry. 3 vols. Translated by Tim Levenson and Brian Considine. Los Angeles, 2000: 3:126.

2012

  • Koeppe, Wolfram. Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013: 33-34, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q62266850

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