Desk

Abraham Roentgen, c. 1758 - c. 1760

This desk has numerous hidden compartments and drawers and even includes a folding kneeling bench. It was made for Johann Philipp von Walderdorff, Archbishop and Elector of Trier, and is embellished at the top with his portrait and coat of arms. This desk is the greatest showpiece ever made by Abraham Roentgen – the most famous German cabinetmaker of his time.

Artwork typedesk, bureau table
Object numberBK-16676
Dimensionsheight 148.5 cm x width 110 cm x depth 58.5 cm, width 110 cm x depth 58.5 cm
Physical characteristicseiken-, esdoorn- en notenhout, belijmd met diverse houtsoorten, schildpad, zilver, parelmoer, koper, ivoor, verguld brons

Stories

A desk full of secrets

4:11 min. - Opening secret compartments

German Jigsaw Puzzle

Desk full of secrets

Identification

Title(s)
Bureau
Object type
Object number
BK-16676
Description
Bureau op S-vormige poten, versierd met marqueterie in meerdere materialen. De geschulpte voor-en zijkanten van het onderstel dragen figuratieve marqueteriepanelen, evenals de zijkanten van het bovenstel en de velden van het centrale opzetstuk. Op het schrijfblad is een troonzaal vol verwijzingen naar de keurvorst van Trier afgebeeld, waaronder de initialen I.P.C. Het middenveld aan de voorkant van het onderstel ligt hoger dan de zijvelden. Overdadig versierde lijsten en ornamenten in marqueterie en beslag.
Inscriptions / marks
- circumscription: ‘IOAN.PHILIP.D.G.ARCHIEPISTREVIR.S.R.I.PRIN.ELECT.ADMIN.PRUM.P.P.’
- inscription: ‘Wer rdlich denckdt undt // freundscft häldt, verdiendt // Den gess der Weldt’
- monogram: ‘JPC’
- inscription: ‘ALL: // GLOR:’
Catalogue reference
- Inzoomer object op zaal, 2013 (Nederlands/English).
- A. Feulner, 'Frühwerke von David Roentgen", Münchener Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst N.F. 1 (1924), p. 276, 278, afb. 1.

Creation

Creation
furniture worker: Abraham Roentgen, Neuwied
Dating
c. 1758 - c. 1760
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Material and technique

Physical description
eiken-, esdoorn- en notenhout, belijmd met diverse houtsoorten, schildpad, zilver, parelmoer, koper, ivoor, verguld brons
Material
Technique
Dimensions
- height 148.5 cm x width 110 cm x depth 58.5 cm
- width 110 cm x depth 58.5 cm

This work is about

Person
Subject

Acquisition and rights

Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
…; collection Hannah Mathilde Freifrau von Rothschild (1832-1924), Grüneburg, Frankfurt am Main;{Von Falke 1936, p. 347, no. Mo.75.}; her grandson Albert Maximilian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1843-1940), Berlin and Frankfurt am Main, 1927, 1928{Note RMA, letter and photo, Nadine von Mauthner (daughter of Albert Maxmilian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild to the museum, 13 March 2004; Feulner 1927, p. 543, image 452.; Huth 1928, Plate 6.} …; collection Dr Fritz Mannheimer (1890-1939), Amsterdam and Paris, probably before 1934, 1936;{NHA, 476, RMA Archive, inv. no. 2142, Recapitulatie der geïnventariseerde kunstvoorwerpen van wijlen Dr F. Mannheimer, undated, p. 9, no. Por 108, with note `oud bezit buiten Artistic gehouden´; Von Falke 1936, p. 288, no. Po. 111.} purchased from his estate, en bloc, by the Dienststelle Mühlmann, The Hague, for Adolf Hitler's Führermuseum, Linz, 1940;{Korthals Altes 1974, pp. 21-22.} war recuperation, SNK, 1945;{HNA, SNK Archive, 2.08.42, inv. no. 548.} on loan, with xx other objects, from the DRVK to the museum, 1952;{Note RMA.} transferred to the museum, 1960
Remarks
Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

- Inzoomer object op zaal, 2013 (Nederlands/English).
- A. Feulner, 'Frühwerke von David Roentgen", Münchener Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst N.F. 1 (1924), p. 276, 278, afb. 1.

Related objects

Persistent URL

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200319099