Getty Museum
Reading and Writing Stand
Creator
Abraham RoentgenGerman Artist · 1711–1793
All works by this person →Abraham Roentgen was born in 1711 in Mühlheim, today part of Cologne in Germany. After learning cabinetmaking in his father's shop and working at various jobs in Holland, he settled in London in 1731. He was soon employed by English cabinetmakers who admired his interesting use of inlay, inventive mechanical fittings, and the hidden drawers he used in his furniture. In 1737 Roentgen became a membe
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1760–1765
- Medium
- Pine, oak, and walnut veneered with rosewood, alder, palisander, ivory, ebony and mother-of-pearl; gilded metal fittings
- Culture
- German
- Department
- Decorative Arts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
When closed, this stand appears to be in the form of a table, yet it extends and opens in a complex manner to serve several functions. The height and angle of the upper section can be raised or lowered to form a reading stand, while narrow drawers pop open from the sides. The lower section has two hinged compartments, each containing eight small drawers. The stand is covered with a pattern of geometric parquetry and inlaid with ivory and mother-of pearl. In the center of the writing surface is the coat-of-arms of Johann Philipp von Walderdorff, Elector and Archbishop of Trier. Walderdorff filled his palace with elegant furniture, commissioning more than twenty pieces from the maker of this stand, Abraham Roentgen.
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