Perhaps you’ve already noticed that the design of this room, the First Antechamber, is rather grander than the Corner State Room we were in before? As we’ve already mentioned, that was intentional. It’s mainly due to the twelve magnificent pieces of tapestry showing spiral or barley twist columns. These woven hangings create bold highlights with their wide variety of colours.
August the Strong had commissioned the textile wall coverings in Berlin. However, the origins of this series can be traced back to the Manufacture Royale des Gobelins in Paris – the royal court workshops. As a young prince, he’d responded with enthusiasm to their creations during his Grand Tour.
Gold and silver threads on coloured silk, lavishly interwoven. Flowering climbers winding around the shaft, a capital with a shield cartouche and crown above. Woven into the shield in gold, the initials AR for Augustus Rex, King August.
In 1769, these wonderful columns were replaced by tapestries with motifs inspired by Chinese art. Chinoiserie – the fashion for all things Chinese – was very popular in Europe in the mid-18th century. The chinoiserie borders remained in the room until the Second World War, after which all trace of them vanished.
To replace the lost barley-twist columns, new tapestries were woven, based on similar, surviving wall hangings from the time of August the Third. They were made by the original weaving method, that is, woven by hand on an upright loom. There’s now only a single workshop in the entire world that is still able to produce tapestries of this quality: the Real Fábrica de Tapices in Madrid.
Since the manufacturing technique is very elaborate, and very few people are skilled in the craft, it is taking a long time to weave the tapestries. If you look around this room, you’ll be able to see how the textile furnishings are gradually being completed. On the wall towards the Audience Chamber, you can see the finished woven hangings. On the other walls, prints serve as placeholders for elements that still remained to be finished, allowing for an initial overall impression.
