Thomas Moore
Head of Department
Lot 58Ф,TP,Y
An important pair of German late 18th century ormolu and brass mounted mahogany 'mechanical' reading/writing/card/games tables attributed to David Roentgen (1743-1807)
Amended
18 December 2020, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£100,000 - £150,000
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An important pair of German late 18th century ormolu and brass mounted mahogany 'mechanical' reading/writing/card/games tables attributed to David Roentgen (1743-1807)
Circa 1785, each with a triple foldover top, the first hinged top enclosing an inset baize playing surface, the second inlaid with a chess and draughts board, the third surface on one table inset with a baize surface incorporating a hinged rest and a lever-activated opposing 'pop-up' hinged box, enclosing an ebony and stained fruitwood inlaid backgammon playing surface encompassed by ivory playing discs, flanked by two compartments with line-inlaid tambour sliding lids, the other table inset with a gilt-tooled leather surface incorporating a hinged writing rest and a lever-activated opposing 'pop-up' hinged box, enclosing a void interior, each with panel mounted friezes and flute mounted angles, with a catch-activated release for the rear gateleg and a secret drawer, on four detachable screw-in square tapering legs each with two mille raie outer facings headed by collar mouldings, terminating in moulded block and peg feet, each: 99cm wide x 48.5cm deep x 81cm high, (38 1/2in wide x 19in deep x 31 1/2in high) (2)
Footnotes
Provenance
Formerly with Didier Aaron, Paris.
Purchased: Koller Auctions, Zurich, 26th March 2015, Furniture, Porcelain and Decoration, lot 1184.
Auction Comparables
A single games table of this same type sold Sotheby's, Zurich, 7th December 1994, lot 257. Another similar Roentgen table, albeit a very slightly earlier model dating to circa 1780, sold Christie's, London, 7th July 2008, Important European Furniture, lot 535.
Forerunners and Further Comparables
Two precursors to the offered lot, in terms of form, Neoclassical design and multifunctionality, feature in W. Koeppe, Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens, 2012, New York, fig.'s 24 & 27, pp.'s 108-9 & 116-119, which was published to accompany the important and hugely successful exhibition of the same title held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in 2012. The first table is dated circa 1774-1780 and the second 1774-1775, and as a result of their earlier dates of production both of these incorporate marquetry which is totally absent on the offered pair.
However the closest comparables to the present tables include one, dated 1780-1783, also illustrated and analysed in W. Koeppe, Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens, fig. 45, pp.'s 163-5. And another, circa 1785, that is housed at the Palace of Pavlovsk in St. Petersburg features in both Greber, J.M. Abraham und David Roentgen, Mobel fur Europa, 1980, Starnberg, Bd. 1, S. 235, Bd. 2, S. 320, 321 and in D. Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen, Das noch aufgefundene Gesamtwerk ihrer Mobel- und Uhrenkunst in Verbindung mit der Uhrmacherfamilie Kinzing in Neuwied, 1996, Bad Neustadt/Saale, fig. 103, p. 62.
The New Restrained Roentgen Style
These 'tables a jeu a quatre variations', examples of which are very rare to come across in pairs, display all of the features typically found on those pieces emanating from the workshop of Neuwied-based David Roentgen during the 1780s. By that time Roentgen's output had become increasingly restrained, incorporating the linear forms and antique elements of the new Neoclassicism. Instead of marquetry which had gradually fallen out of fashion, Roentgen took to simple but costly mahogany veneers with sparingly elegant use of gilt bronze ornamentation, thus completing the process of artistic emancipation from his father, Abraham Roentgen (1711-93). And yet arguably the most notable feature of David's works were now their complex mechanisms, in this case the rising box for "tric-trac", the lateral compartments with tambour covers, the detachable screw-in legs, and the skilfully concealed, or essentially 'secret', drawer.
The Development of Roentgen's Mechanical Furniture
The earliest mechanical tables of Neoclassical design by David Roentgen were supplied in 1771 for the country house at Worlitz on behalf of Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau, where they are still located, D. Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen, 1996, No.'s 47a-b. Roentgen provided a further pair to his main client of the mid-1770s, Prince Charles of Lorraine, Governor of the Austrian Netherlands, but these are now housed at the Museum fur Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, D. Fabian, Op. Cit, No.'s 67 & 68. Both sets employ abundant colourful marquetry but by the 1780s Roentgen had rejected this aesthetic in favour of plain mahogany with delicate mounts and this proved to be preferred by the princely patrons throughout that decade, as evidenced by the Pavlovsk model which was delivered along with many other items to the Russian court from circa 1783 onwards, Op. Cit, No. 103.
For his most mechanically complicated pieces, Roentgen worked closely with Peter Kinzing, a highly gifted clockmaker likewise from Neuwied, and after they had supplied Marie Antoinette with an automaton in 1785, the position of Ebeniste Mecanicien du Roi et de la Reine was even conferred upon Roentgen. This was a rare and distinguished Royal appointment which one of the most famous cabinet makers of the 18th century, Jean-Francois Oeben (1721-1763), had previously been honoured with in 1760, during the reign of Louis XV.
Famous Admirers of Roentgen
Interestingly, it was this mechanical element of Roentgen's output that was held in the highest esteem by his peers and various notable contemporary figures. Roentgen was even revered by the literary, cultural and scientific polymath and major German Romantic, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) who epitomised the zeitgeist. Goethe, author of the seminal Faust, Parts I and II probably encountered a games table similar to the offered examples while working at Weimar Palace as Privy Councillor to Duke Karl August von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach. This is believed to be the case due to an 1810 inventory of the assembly room at the Weimar Palace which documents a: "game table veneered with mahogany, and decorated with brass mouldings. With a hidden 'Tocadille' [backgammon board]", 3 feet 4 inches long, 1 foot 8 inches deep. By Rontchen.", W. Koppe, Idem, p. 164.
Analysis of the Offered Lot
At first appearance the present tables are misleadingly simple in form and decoration, but it is clear that Roentgen's choice of superb mahogany veneers is perfectly matched and beautifully highlighted by his restrained, yet visually striking, use of both gilt bronze and brass mounts. The natural grain of the mahogany is effectively manipulated so that it runs horizontally along the length of the leaves whereas the flame figuring is vertical on each frieze. The mounts are brilliantly incorporated into the overall scheme to create a visually thrilling sense of depth. In particular, the projecting mouldings are brought out with bronze applications, the mille raie fields on the front and outer side facings of the legs are gilded, and the classical fluting to the angle blocks are lined with brass.
In relation to the mounts, evidently Roentgen was influenced by the practice of contemporary Parisian ebenistes, who ordered their mounts directly from specialists working solely within that field. By 1779 Roentgen was employing the same process and in fact many of his mounts from that date onwards were supplied by the renowned maitre-doreur, Francois Remond (1747-1812) who was also based in Paris, C. Baulez, David Roentgen et Francois Remond, Une Collaboration Majeure dans l'Histoire du Mobilier, 1996, 'L'Objet d'Art/l'Estampille 305, pp.'s 96-118.
Further Analysis
Although the above are largely identical in terms of their internal construction, one is clearly a games table while the other is intended for use as a writing table. The third top of the former has a central baize-lined section flanked by compartments with tambour covers, which would have been used for storing playing counters and other games-related items. Concealed in the frame between the storage compartments is a box that rises on a spring mechanism. This box encloses geometric inlay in the pattern appropriate for "tric-trac", a game similar to backgammon that was much loved in the 18th century. Each upright forming the long sides of the opened box features six holes fitted with ivory discs which would have held pegs used to indicate the score, while on the uprights comprising the ends of the opened box is a larger hole with a square fitting which was originally designed to hold a candlestick.
On the other table - the one for writing - the rising box has no inlay to its interior and was clearly meant for the sole purpose of securing various writing implements and storing stationery. While the black leather-inset central area suggests that its principal function was to serve as a writing surface but, added to this, it appears that hinged props enable the rear half to be used as a reading stand.
The Historical Context
By the latter part of the 18th century the vast majority of affluent upper middle class households and aristocratic family homes across Europe almost certainly contained games tables. This was because such games as dice, cards, chess, draughts and "tric-trac" were immensely fashionable and intensely popular among the wealthy at that time. However, since space was becoming increasingly limited within the context of smaller and more intimate cabinets, or rooms, favoured in architecture and interior decoration during the Louis XVI period (1773-1790) cabinet makers responded appropriately by producing more and more multi-purpose furniture such as the offered lot.
The present tables might also have been used as consoles when placed against a wall rather than merely performing their original roles of reading, writing, card and games tables. This kind of elegant and technically sophisticated table was the peculiar speciality of the Roentgen firm while David Roentgen himself was instrumental in developing and perfecting this type of ingenious furniture. The Roentgen manufactory was based at Herrnhaag until 1750, and thereafter re-located to Neuwied. And, as previously referenced, unsurprisingly throughout the period 1745-1790 numerous Roentgen pieces were delivered to European princely courts.
Saleroom notices
Please note this is a TP (large) lot and as thus will be moved to Cadogan Tate post sale for storage.
