Games Table
David Roentgen, Januarius Zick
Neuwied, ca 1778
Oak with sycamore, boxwood, white beech
81,5 x 90,4 x 45,8 cm
Inv.-Nr. 84/239
Given by the Friedrich Flick Industrieverwaltung, 1994
Although this piece of furniture initially appears to be a simple console table, it is in reality a complex piece. A perfectly functioning mechanism allows it to be opened up into a games table for playing chess, nine-mens-morris, draughts, trictrac and cards. Games counters are kept in the drawers with slatted fronts. A frame for a lectern is also included in the table. This type of furniture originated in England. Using mechanical devices and marquetry scenes, two specialties of his renowned workshop, David Roentgen improved upon English examples. The uppermost of the three table tops opens to reveal a pastoral scene worked in stained woods after a painting by Januarius Zick. The mechanism has been thought out down to the last detail: drill holes in the underside of the body ensure that air escapes so that the table can be closed without encountering resistance.
des Bayerischen Nationalmuseum
