When you entered the Corner State Room, you’ll have noticed the two pairs of silver kettle drums – one on either side of the door. These impressive instruments were actually played. As a rule, the Electors of Saxony employed twelve court trumpet players and one man on the kettle drum. When August the Strong was preparing for his son’s wedding in 1719, he had two especially valuable pairs of kettle drums made for the occasion. One pair is on display here; the other has not survived. The second pair of drums you’re seeing is from an earlier date. It was commissioned by August the Strong’s father, Johann Georg the Third.
The reason August the Strong was making such a major investment was because he had a plan. He wanted to expand and consolidate the power of his dynasty – the House of Wettin. By securing the Polish crown, August the Strong had already scored a major coup. Now, he hoped a shrewd marriage policy would open up a route to the imperial ermine for his son. So he arranged the marriage of Friedrich August the Second to Maria Josepha, Archduchess of Austria. As the first-born daughter of the former Emperor Joseph the First, she was quite well-placed in the Hapsburg line of succession.
The royal courts of Europe would be talking about the celebrations he held in the autumn of 1719 for a long time. The party went on for forty days. It was one of the largest and longest events of the period. August the Strong provided all the forms of entertainment that were in fashion at the time: tournaments, masked balls and fireworks, par force hunting, jousting and opera performances as well as sea battles on the lakes near Moritzburg Palace. The highlights were the Planet Festivals dedicated to the gods of the planets, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Neptune and Saturn, as well as the sun god Apollo and Diana, goddess of the Moon – seven in all.
But August the Strong’s plan ultimately failed. As a result of what’s known as the Pragmatic Sanction, the imperial crown went to Maria Josepha’s cousin, Maria Theresia, and Maria Josepha and Friedrich August the Second were left empty-handed. But from everything we know today, they had a happy marriage, even though it was politically arranged.
