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This is Jupiter – father of the gods – astride an eagle with spread wings. The thunderbolts in his hand are a symbol of his power.

Sculptors have not very often portrayed Jupiter – or Zeus, as he was originally called in Greek mythology – riding on an eagle, although the eagle was the symbol most closely associated with him.

This Jupiter Column is a masterpiece of Baroque treasury art. Even if it is only seventy-seven centimetres high, it seems monumental. On the pedestal you see silver reliefs depicting other gods from Olympus. The column itself was created by unknown artists, but the ivory figure of Jupiter is by Balthasar Permoser.

The Green Vault has only been home to this column since 1769 – thirty-six years after the death of August the Strong. Before that, it belonged to one of the most powerful men in Saxony – Heinrich, Count Bühl.

Bühl rose from being a lowly silver page at the court in Dresden... to being an Imperial Count and the most influential politician in the land, under August the Strong and his son, August the Third. Unfortunately, however, he became more and more corrupt over the years and grew immensely rich. His art collection and library were not as big as the king’s, but they were in no way inferior in quality. On Brühl’s death in 1763, the new Elector confiscated the former prime minister’s entire estate – including this statuette.