A German brass-mounted mahogany and yew wood parquetry casket by Abraham Roentgen, Neuwied, circa 1755-65

RELATED LITERATURE

Dieter Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen das noch aufgefundene Gesamtwerk ihrer Möbel- und Uhrenkunst in Verbindung mit der Uhrmacherfamilie Kinzing in Neuwied. Leben und Werk, Werkverzeichnis der Werke, Quellen, 1996, pp. 245-254

Abraham Roentgen (1711–1793) and his son David were the creators of marquetry furniture of highly refined quality and ingenious construction that earned them popularity across Europe. From the modest town of Neuwied in North Rhine-Westphalia, they had a workshop that produced designs that neatly incorporated secret compartments and moving mechanical parts. The firm was founded in 1742, and during its flourishing under the ancien régime they supplied furniture to, amongst others, Catherine the Great, Louis XVI and King Frederick William II of Prussia, to whom they delivered the magnificent ‘Neuwieder Kabinett’ now in the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin (O-1962,24), estimated to be the “the most expensive piece of furniture ever made”.¹ Abraham was succeeded by his son David in 1772, and the business continued until 1801.

Small caskets, boxes and tea chests of this type appear to have been a popular smaller item for the Roentgens, and they are well-documented in literature on the history of furniture as well as major public collections. For example, there is a tea chest by Roentgen in the MET (1999.147) which not only shares the overall proportions and form of the present model, but also has similar bracket feet in the English manner. A Roentgen jewel case is also on display at the musée Nissim de Camondo (CAM 75). Other examples also feature chequered marquetry like the present lot, such one example pictured in Hans Hut’s book on Roentgen furniture.²

¹ Wolfram Koeppe, ‘Abraham and David Roentgen‘, 2013, available at <https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/roen/hd_roen.htm> [accessed 19^th September 2023]

² Hans Hut, Roentgen Furniture, London, 1974, fig.192.