Writing table

David Roentgen, c. 1780 - c. 1785

Roentgen was renowned for his marquetry, which is composed, like a jigsaw puzzle, of tiny pieces of different wood, without engraved details. He called this technique à la mosaïque. On this tabletop the Greek hero Aeneas is shown fleeing the burning city of Troy carrying his father Anchises on his back. This story is recounted by the Roman poet Virgil in the Aeneid, an epic poem about Aeneas’ heroic deeds.

  • Artwork typetable
  • Object numberBK-16677
  • Dimensionsheight 73.5 cm x width 72.5 cm, depth 50 cm, width 47.7 cm x depth 36 cm
  • Physical characteristicseikenhout, belijmd met esdoornhout en andere houtsoorten, verguld brons

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Writing table

  • Object type

  • Object number

    BK-16677

  • Description

    Tafel versierd met marqueterie in meerdere houtsoorten op eikenhouten kern. Het ovale meubel rust op vier zich naar onderen verjongende vierkante poten met Toscaanse kapitelen en versierd met een baan binnen een uitgronding aangebracht. De regels met kraallranden zijn boven de poten verkropt en versierd met triglyphen en ronde platen. Het blad met geprofileerde rand vertoont in marqueterie de vlucht van Aeneas uit brandend Troje.De overige versieringen zijn van verguld brons. Lade voor; bergruimtes opzij.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • mark: ‘22’
    • mark: ‘23’

Creation

  • Creation

    furniture maker (person): David Roentgen, Neuwied

  • Dating

    c. 1780 - c. 1785

  • Search further with

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    eikenhout, belijmd met esdoornhout en andere houtsoorten, verguld brons

  • Dimensions

    • height 73.5 cm x width 72.5 cm
    • depth 50 cm
    • width 47.7 cm x depth 36 cm

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; from Dr Fritz Mannheimer (1890-1939), Amsterdam and Paris, fl. 6,350,000, en bloc, to Artistic & General Securities Ltd. as security for a loan from the Mendelssohn & Co. Bank, but kept in usufruct, 1934;{NHA, 476, RMA Archive, inv. no. 2142, Recapitulatie der geïnventariseerde kunstvoorwerpen van wijlen Dr F. Mannheimer, undated, p. 81, no. M 77, Artistic no. 34/12; NHA, 233, Arrondissementsrechtbank Amsterdam, inv. no. 1365, “O.R. 256/1939, Faillissementsdossier: nalatenschap Dr. F. Mannheimer, 28 augustus 1939”, image 3, page 2.} purchased from Mendelssohn & Co. Bank, 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 1,702 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

  • Documentatiemap.

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