The celebrations surrounding the marriage of Electoral Prince Friedrich August II to Maria Josepha, daughter of the Austrian Emperor, in Dresden in September 1719 occasioned the construction of the royal State Apartments. The opening of the faithfully reconstructed State Apartments 300 years after their original creation marks the glorious climax of 33 years of reconstruction work on Dresden’s former electoral and royal palace, the Residenzschloss.
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The luxurious suite of rooms included a banqueting hall, two antechambers, the Audience Chamber with the throne, and the State Bedroom containing the magnificent imperial bed. Thanks to a great deal of hard work, expense and professional expertise, as well as supreme craftsmanship, it has been possible to recreate a structural work of art that provides an authentic experience of the palace’s magnificent 18th-century interior.
The preserved originals from the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts), such as the gilt silver furnishings from Augsburg, numerous paintings from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery), valuable mirror frames and the gold pilasters from the Audience Chamber, which were already exceptionally precious at the time of their creation, testify to the original appearance of the rooms and still today cannot fail to impress.
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It is even possible to meet August the Strong in person! After passing his throne, you arrive at the “royal statua”, the coronation figure of August the Strong dressed in the Roman-style coronation regalia, wearing the insignia from the Dresden Rüstkammer (Armoury) and fitted with a life mask taken from the former ruler. The state robes of August the Strong, which have been preserved in the Rüstkammer, are a world-renowned treasure-store of Baroque textile art and bear amazing testimony to the dynastic and political events of his reign.
The famous passion of August the Strong for ‘white gold’, i.e. porcelain, is reflected in the reconstructed Porcelain Cabinet in the Tower Room. Set up by his son August III, it served for more than 200 years as a prominent showroom for Meissen porcelain, for which Saxony was much envied.
Unique and important works of the Meissen Manufactory – the vases representing the elements, created by the court sculptor and model master Johann Joachim Kaendler – have finally returned to the palace after having slumbered for 75 years in the storeroom of the Porzellansammlung.
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The ‘Elements vases’ were originally commissioned by August III as a highly ambitious diplomatic gift for Louis XV, King of France. Then as now, these innovative vases with the character of sculptures, which were created by the Dresden court sculptor and chef modeller Johann Joachim Kaendler, are among the most outstanding masterpieces from the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory.
The collection of royal costumes from the Wardrobe of August the Strong (1670-1733), part of the Dresden Rüstkammer, marks the culmination of the Baroque style in royal garments, of which King Louis XIV of France was the epitome. Nowhere has such a complete collection of costumes from this era been preserved in such outstanding quality as in Dresden.
This ensemble consisting of a pendulum clock and high pedestal was made by the eminent Parisian cabinetmaker Jean-Pierre Latz (1691-1754). These items are masterpieces of Parisian ornamental carpentry from the period around 1740. Objects of this kind are regarded as some of the most prestigious furnishings of the first half of the 18th century.
The Dresden fireplace screen, a work of supreme craftsmanship made of embossed silver plate, was made by the famous Augsburg goldsmiths Albrecht and Lorenz II Biller and is one of the most outstanding objects in the State Apartments. Only a few silver fireplace screens from this period have survived.
The Polish-Lithuanian kingdom of August II and August III is represented by insignia and other objects from the two coronations. In addition to the electoral hat, guard weapons, coats of arms and heralds’ staffs, the original components of the coronation regalia worn by August the Strong (1697) as well as the crown flags and coronation swords of Poland and Lithuania used in the coronation of August III (1734) are presented.
![Toilette-Koffer [Zustand vor der Restaurierung], André Charles Boulle, Paris, um 1700](/fileadmin/_processed_/0/d/csm_4_Toilett-Koffer_37608_Foto_Estel_und_Klut_6e28d4a7e3.webp "Toilette-Koffer [Zustand vor der Restaurierung], André Charles Boulle, Paris, um 1700")
For a good two centuries the Turmzimmer in the piano nobile of Dresden’s Residenzschloss was a prominent room used for displaying the electoral and royal porcelain.
Alongside vases from China and Japan, August III exhibited, in particular, the best products of his unique and much-envied Meissen Manufactory, presenting them on gilt consoles set against red painted walls. With only minor changes, the Baroque Porcelain Cabinet remained intact until the destruction of the Palace in 1945, and it is now being reconstructed.
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When you play our YouTube or Vimeo videos, information about your use of YouTube or Vimeo is transmitted to the US operator and may be stored. In addition, external media such as videos or fonts are loaded and stored in your browser.
When you play our YouTube or Vimeo videos, information about your use of YouTube or Vimeo is transmitted to the US operator and may be stored. In addition, external media such as videos or fonts are loaded and stored in your browser.
When you play our YouTube or Vimeo videos, information about your use of YouTube or Vimeo is transmitted to the US operator and may be stored. In addition, external media such as videos or fonts are loaded and stored in your browser.
When you play our YouTube or Vimeo videos, information about your use of YouTube or Vimeo is transmitted to the US operator and may be stored. In addition, external media such as videos or fonts are loaded and stored in your browser.
Among the outstanding masterpieces of the Meissen Manufactory that will be returning to the Palace after 75 years in the storerooms of the Porzellansammlung are the vases created by the court sculptor and modeller Johann Joachim Kändler as representations of the elements. Numerous empty wall consoles will act as reminders of the many porcelain items that were lost after being removed for safekeeping before the war.
