A chest of drawers by Abraham Roentgen
Walnut, plum, cherry on softwood, ormolu fittings, forged iron locks. On four carved scroll feet, concave-convex curved three-drawer corpus with pointed angles, a fold under the top drawer. Drawer fronts inlaid with cuboid marquetry, the sides with rhomboid marquetry. Very well restored condition. H 86, W 117, D 62 cm.
Neuwied, around 1760.
This chest of drawers comes from Abraham Roentgen's early Neuwied phase. The Moravian Brethren had just settled in Neuwied at the invitation of Count Johann Friedrich Alexander zu Wied. The conditions were better here than in Herrenhaag. Due to the location, Roentgen was able to serve a larger group of customers more quickly across the Rhine.
Roentgen did not produce many chests of drawers in the 1750s, although those he did make are among the most outstanding works within this creative period. At the forefront are the chests of drawers for Johann Philipp von Walderdorff, which are decorated with the mosaic inlay designs developed by Roentgen in London. There were also simpler pieces of furniture with walnut grain veneer. These items showcase the wood to its best advantage, and mainly focus on the shape of the pieces. They also had no bronze fittings, but usually had carved edges or legs.
Literature
Cf. Fabian, Roentgen Möbel aus Neuwied, Bad Neustadt 1986, fig. 311, the chest of drawers for Elector Johann Philipp von Walderdorff, c. 1755 - 60.
Cf. Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen. Das noch aufgefundene Gesamtwerk ihrer Möbel- und Uhrenkunst in Verbindung mit der Uhrmacherfamilie Kinzing in Neuwied. Leben und Werk, Verzeichnis der Werke, Quellen, Bad Neustadt 1996, cat.
no. 262 ff.