David Roentgen Lot n° 877

Multifunctional portable writing case by David Roentgen Maple burl on oak, solid oak, fire-gilded bronze, iron lock, replaced gold-stamped leather. On a rectangular base with a slightly protruding plinth and lid. Hinged, inside an angled writing desk with inkwell and grit container. The writing surface can be opened at the top and bottom, with compartments underneath. A secret drawer in the base that can be opened with a button on the underside. Stamped "D.ROENTGEN" on the base. In beautiful, age-appropriate, carefully restored condition. Minor scratches on the surfaces. A small replaced piece of veneer on each of the two narrow sides. H 18, W 45.5, D 28.5 cm. Neuwied, after 1780, for the Parisian store of David Roentgens In contrast to the earlier works of the Roentgen workshop from the 1760s and 1770s, the late furniture emphasizes the pure transparency of the wood. The forms are straightforward and simplified, the proportions remain elegant. Ornamentation gives way to pure surfaces. This was covered with selected veneer, in some cases in opposite directions on large surfaces, as here on the lid and the two long sides. In the spring of 1779, David Roentgen was awarded the title "Mécanicien privilégié du Roi et de la Reine" by the French King Louis XVI. A few months later, he moved into a property in Paris and employed Johann Gottlieb Frost (1751 - 1814) as managing director. In May 1780, David Roentgen bought the master craftsman's license from the Parisian guild of ebony makers and was then allowed to offer his own products on the Parisian market, all of which were presumably stamped with his name. However, he was not allowed to use the JME stamp, which was introduced by the Jurande des Maîtres Menuisiers Ebénistes in 1741 and had to be stamped next to his name. He called his store in the Rue de Grenelle "A La Ville De Neuwied". Ulrich Leben and Miriam Schefzyk published a business card, now lost, on which the "Magazin des plus beaux Meubles d'Ebénisteries fait de sa Fabrique, finie à la derniere perfection; et enteprend des commandes pour toutes sortes d'Ouvrages concernant l'Ebénisteries" is advertised under the city view of Neuwied. In December 1785, Jean Gottlieb Frost, who had meanwhile established himself in Paris, took over the business, but had to file for bankruptcy a few years later, after the Revolution of 1789. Provenance Formerly Bernard Montier, Munich. Literature Cf. Fabian, Abraham and David Roentgen. The still-found complete works of their furniture and clock art in connection with the Kinzing family of clockmakers in Neuwied. Life and work, list of works, sources, Bad Neustadt 1996, cat. No. 583, 584, 585. See also Leben/Schefzyk, Von der Spree an die Seine - Die Nachfolge der Roentgen-Werkstatt in Paris, in: Cornet/Willscheid (ed.), Möbel à la Roentgen. Inspirations from the Neuwied Manufactory, Neuwied 2023, p. 93 ff.