If this video of a desk from 18th German cabinet makers the Roentgens (pronounced “RUNT-ghen”) doesn’t blow your neck bolts, nothing will. This and other furniture from the father and son team of Abraham and David are part of “Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until Jan 27th. [Thanks to Alberto Gáitan and Stephen Ellcock!]
28 thoughts on “Roentgens’ Desks, 18th Century Transformers”
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OMG I need the plans! This is phenomenal!
I wish I had enough time and talent to make that. I wonder how much it would cost to buy something like that now…
Considering the prices of competent hardwood cabinets (http://www.gerstnerusa.com/CARTgallery1.htm) -without- the fancy inlay work, the secret compartments, -or- any internal mechanisms…. I’m going to go with “priceless”.
Woooooooooooooooow.
….not able to close my mouth….
that really is amazing. i suppose we must suppose that to re-set all those falling weights it’s only a matter of shoving whatever popped-out back in?…i suppose?
Wait a sec… I know I have a pen in here somewhere.
Actually, someone would need to draw me a map if I had to use one of those.
And where does the liquor go?
Absolutely amazing.
I didn’t even -know- I had neck bolts. But, indeed, they are in fact blown.
I’m sure mcmaster-carr has a neck bolt section here somewhere…
Eat your heart out, James Bond.
I’d mount a blade server with a NAS in it.
Wow. Master craftsmanship. The inlays alone take an abundance of time and patience to design, craft and assemble. On today’s market, materials and labor, built new, this would probably rival the price of low end super car. Probably not less that $100,000 for the time a master artisan would have in this. Probably a lot more.
Incidentally, there’s a great free book on Google Play that covers some of the techniques and skills for making such complex inlays with repeating patterns.
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Egbert_Pomeroy_Watson_A_Manual_of_the_Hand_Lathe_C?id=SfYJAAAAIAAJ#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDUwMSwiYm9vay1TZllKQUFBQUlBQUoiXQ..
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[…] the article Roentgens’ Desks, 18th Century Transformers, author Gareth Branwyn said, “If this video of a desk from 18th German cabinet makers the […]