home  previous exhibitions Princely Splendour: The Dresden Court 1580–1620

11 June - 23 October 2005

Bronze Bust of Elector Christian II of Saxony, Adriaen de Vries (model/chasework) and Martin III Hilliger (cast), 1603.

This breathtaking collection, on loan from the Dresden State Art Collections (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden) and in particular the fabled Green Vault, comprises extraordinary works of silver and silver-gilt embellished with semi-precious stones and exotic materials, rock crystal vessels, ivory turnings, ebony furniture, clocks, and even the royal gardening tools. It will also include rare arms and armour and bronze sculpture by Giambologna and Adriaen de Vries, the most famous sculptors of the day.

These works have been permitted to travel during a two-phase reconstruction of the exhibition galleries in the Dresden Palace and are unlikely to leave Dresden again. This exhibition, which illustrates the opulence and sophistication of court life around 1600, is therefore an unprecedented opportunity to view one of the most important surviving princely collections.

The Green Vault
Dresden is the capital city of Saxony which expanded and rose to prominence as a leading German state under Moritz, the first Saxon Elector (1521-1553) from the Albertine line of the Wettin family. In 1549 Moritz began the construction of the Residenzschloss or Residence Palace, the first German Renaissance building with four wings, which was completed in 1556 during the thirty-three year rule of Moritz’s brother Augustus (1526-1586).

Parade Armour of Elector Christian I, Dresden, 1590, silver, richly etched.

It was Augustus who installed the art treasury or Kunstkammer in seven rooms on the top floor of the west wing of the Palace. Precious objects were also stored in the Secret Storage Vault or Geheime Verwahrung built directly below the royal apartments with walls nearly ten feet thick, iron gates and barred windows. These rooms, accessible only by a secret staircase and through a hidden door, became known as the Grünes Gewölbe or Green Vault and served as a safe repository for the artistic treasures, gold, silver and precious stones of the Saxon Electors until the 18th century.

The Green Vault in the 20th century
In 1942 all the portable Dresden treasures were removed from the Residence Palace for safekeeping elsewhere in fortresses and quarries and only the façade of the Palace and five rooms in the once secret Green Vault survived the Allied bombing of 1945. The victorious Soviet troops tracked down the treasures and shipped them back to Russia where they remained until returned to the German Democratic Republic in 1958. Since then part of the collection has been displayed in the Albertinum in Dresden while the rest was kept in storage.

above: Two Astronomical Table Clocks, Unknown Master, Augsburg, end of 16th century, gilt brass, steel, enamel, silver. below: Bowl on a Dolphin, Ottavio Miseroni, Prague, c.1605-10, rock crystal, gold, enamel.

Since the reunification of Germany, Dresden and its museums have been undergoing major reconstruction and the Residence Palace has been rebuilt. Some of the stunning treasures are already displayed in the New Green Vault, opened in September 2004. Most of the treasures will return to permanent view in the historically restored Green Vault in 2006 and such a quantity of marvellous objects will never again travel outside Germany.

Princely collectors
Augustus’ successors Christian I (r.1586-1591), Christian II (r.1591-1611), and Johann Georg I (r.1611-1656) expanded the collections. Their acquisitions not only reflected their individual tastes but also their passion to enrich the Dresden court so that its splendour would impress upon visitors their wealth and culture.

above: Elephant with Tower drinking vessel, Urban Wolff, Nuremberg, c.1593-98, silver-gilt, mother-of-pearl, coloured stones. below: Cup in the Form of a Sea Unicorn, Elias Geyer, Leipzig, c.1600, silver, mostly gilded, traces of cold enamel, turban-snail shell.

The exhibition features two important bronze busts: one of Christian I, commissioned after his death in 1591 by his widow from Carlo di Cesare del Palagio (1591-1593), a sculptor from the school of Giambologna; the other of Christian II by the great Netherlandish sculptor Adriaen de Vries (c.1545-1626) was a gift from Emperor Rudolf II during the Elector’s visit in 1607 to the imperial court in Prague. (see picture, top of page)

Silver, silver-gilt, crystal and other exotic treasures
The electoral apartments in the New Stable had a suite for ceremonial functions and some of these rooms contained two-tiered buffets in the form of artificial mountains made of ore on which enormous and extravagant silver-gilt drinking vessels were displayed. Some were Willkomm or Welcome cups from which important guests were served on arrival.

The fascination for rare and exotic materials is evident in the luxurious vessels which were crafted in a variety of fantastical forms and among those to be exhibited will be a 52 cm high silver-gilt vessel in the form of an elephant (pictured left) with a gilt and mother-of-pearl tower on its back, made by Urban Wolff, Nuremberg, circa 1593-98. Craftsmen revelled in the challenges posed by such materials as shells, coconuts, ostrich eggs, coral and mother-of-pearl.

Actaeon Cup, Jeremias Ritter, Nuremberg, c.1609-29, silver, partly gilded, coral.

Nuremberg craftsman, Jeremias Ritter, created an extraordinary interpretation of the legend of Actaeon who was changed into a stag by Diana and then killed by his own hounds. The statuette (pictured right), circa 1609-29, captures Actaeon in the process of transformation, the hunter’s body with a stag’s head surmounted by red coral antlers, holding two hunting dogs on chains.

The exhibition includes a magnificent array of silver-gilt cups and vessels, often incorporating mother-of-pearl and precious and semi-precious stones, a veritable menagerie of sea unicorns, seahorses, pelicans, ostriches, partridges, an owl and a parrot, even a farmyard rooster, created by some of the greatest silversmiths of the period.

Engraved and mounted rock crystal vessels were enormously expensive and coveted by collectors. Augustus had a collection of 42 of these treasures and among those to be exhibited is an exquisite bowl supported by a dolphin carved by Ottavio Miseroni in Prague, circa 1605-10, (pictured above right), and an early 17th century ewer from Milan engraved with tendrils and standing on a foot cut in the shape of a shell.

Mercury, Giambologna, before 1587, bronze, base wood.

Bronze sculpture and other gifts
European Renaissance princes gave and received extravagant gifts and Giambologna’s famous bronze figure Mercury (pictured left) was presented to Christian I by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco I de’ Medici. This figure, depicting the messenger god with only the tip of his foot touching the ground, was one of the sculptor’s most daring and popular compositions and was a token of high esteem as Florence only bestowed the winged Mercury upon valued recipients.

Two other Giambologna bronzes in the exhibition were also given to Christian by Francesco: the dramatic Nessus and Deianira and Sleeping Nymph with Satyr. Adriaen de Vries worked in Giambologna’s studio early in his career and, as well as the bronze bust of Elector Christian II, the exhibition will feature his Faun and Nymph.

Parade Casket of Elector Christian I of Saxony, Nuremberg (?), before 1590, wood, glass, silver, partly gilded, enamel, shells, pearls, precious stones, velvet, silk, braided gold trimmings, metal threads, cantils.

A particularly spectacular gift is the parade casket (pictured right) given by Electress Elisabeth of Brandenburg to her son-in-law Christian I as a New Year’s gift in 1590. Probably made in Nuremberg by Wenzel Jamnitzer, the supreme creator of Kunstkammer objects, it is extravagantly decorated with silver, gilt, enamel, shells, pearls and precious stones while the interior of the lid and elaborate system of drawers are covered in velvet and silk sumptuously embroidered with braided gold trimmings and metal thread.

Parade Armour, Eliseus Libaerts, Antwerp, c.1563-1564, iron embossed, blackened, partly etched, and gilt.

Arms and armour
Magnificent arms and armour were a must for the ceremonial parades, jousts and hunting that were a crucial part of court life of Saxony. The armour and guns created for the elector and his courtiers reached a zenith combining the practical with a new level of design and decoration. The Dresden Rüstkammer or armoury still contains such treasures as a magnificent embossed, etched and gilt parade armour with its red-plumed helmet (pictured left) made for King Erik XIV of Sweden, circa 1563-64, as evidence of his serious intentions when asking for the hand of the English queen Elizabeth I. Probably forged in Sweden and sent to Antwerp for decoration by the goldsmith Eliseus Libaerts, the armour was seized by Danish troops on its way back to Sweden by ship and taken to Copenhagen. It was purchased by Elector Christian II in 1604. Also on show is an ornate parade armour and chanfron made for Christian I in 1590 entirely of silver rather than steel.

Other works on view include armour for horses, men and boys as well as elaborately decorated swords, hunting weapons, battleaxes, firearms and powder flasks. These pieces are not only works of art in their own right but often encompass the field of science with, for example, a rapier, a dagger and a carved ivory powder flask set with watches and a gilt powder flask with a sundial and magnetic compass. Such objects demonstrated the wealth of the innovative production of scientific instruments in Germany at the time.

Folding Multipurpose Tool, Nuremberg, c.1560-70, iron, case etched, partly blackened.

Gardening, carpentry and turning tools
Augustus had a great interest in all kinds of tools, including those related to mining and military needs, cabinet making, agriculture and gardening, some of which he used and even made himself in his own workshop. A fascinating section of the exhibition is devoted to these tools which are not only practical but also elaborately decorated and embellished. Many of these tools would not be out of place in a 21st century gardening shed or workshop, particularly the folding multipurpose tool (pictured right) dating from 1560-70, a remarkable forerunner of today’s pocket knife, with its fourteen small tools on a pivot.

The gardening tools include two iron spades, one of them painted with fruit and flowers on its wooden mounts; dibbles and rakes with turned wood handles; two long-handled clippers with cords for trimming trees and shrubs; and an adze, a tool combining a weeding blade with a little axe for cutting out roots and shoots, the shaft covered with floral bands of bone inlay. Another adze and a brass seeder of 1572, engraved with the initials AA for Augustus and his wife Anna who shared her husband’s passion for gardening, were both known to have been used by Augustus himself.

Hunting and Work Desk of Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony, Augsburg, c.1620-25. Pine veneered with oak and ebony, with engraved silver inlays, iron handles. Detail below.

Augustus enjoyed working on the lathe and the exhibition includes turned ivories that he made as well as many more elaborate pieces such as an ivory cup and cover made by the court turner Georg Wecker in 1586 and two extraordinary columns with terminals carved as complex geometric forms made by Egidius Lobenigk in 1588.

The hunting and work desk of Johann Georg I made in Augsburg, circa 1620-25, not only gives an insight into the lifestyle of the elector but is also the ultimate toolbox. Made of ebony and silver, the top intricately inlaid with silver depicting scenes of ancient heroes, its two doors open to reveal drawers and compartments containing all the implements, mostly made of silver, that any prince would ever need: implements for falconry and hunting weapons; engineering tools and instruments for both military and peaceful uses; sculptor’s, locksmith’s, carpenter’s and farrier’s tools; mathematical instruments; and a travelling pharmacy and barber’s instruments. Such travel furniture afforded its owner all conceivable comforts while travelling.

Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland (r. 1694-1733) undertook a massive reorganisation of the collections between 1723 and 1730, and the Green Vault became a functional museum in the modern sense thus ensuring the preservation of these spectacular pieces.

In the late 16th century, the princely collectors of the courts of Europe engaged in fierce competition trying to outdo one another in the magnificence, craftsmanship and rarity of the objects they amassed. Not even Emperor Rudolf II in Prague or those in Vienna and Munich could outshine the Dresden Collection with its wonderful pieces made of silver and silver-gilt, bronze, rock crystal, precious stones, ivory, mother-of-pearl, ostrich eggs and other exotic materials.

Princely Splendour: The Dresden Court 1580-1620 offers a rare opportunity to admire the astonishing riches from one of the grandest princely courts of the European Renaissance and the unparalleled skills of the court artists, craftsmen, jewellers and goldsmiths of the period.

Sponsors
The exhibition is generously sponsored by Hubert Burda Media, The Schroder Family and WestLB AG. The exhibition has also been supported by Atticus Capital LLC, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, Lord Rothschild’s family interests, and anonymous donors. The Gilbert Collection would also like to thank ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius and KUHN & BÜLOW Insurance Broker Ltd for additional support.

Curators
The exhibition was conceived and curated by Dirk Syndram, Director of the Green Vault, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

Catalogue
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue edited by Dirk Syndram and Antje Scherner and published by Electa, with contributions by the Dresden curators responsible for the relevant objects, and essays by specialists, as well as by Dirk Syndram.
ISBN 88-370-271804. Price: £28.50 (paperback)

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