The feature that contributed most to enhancing the splendour of the State Apartment was the exceptionally precious and ornate furnishing textiles. Imperial Count von Wackerbarth, who carried on an in-depth correspondence with the king about furnishing the rooms, had explained early on how important the choice was.
“Your Majesty, permit me to say that the rules to be observed when furnishing for the purposes of prestige mean that all the rooms, from the Guard Chamber to the Bed Chamber must each in turn be handsomer, more luxurious and more wonderful.”
A major point in the discussion was the question of how much associated gold and silver decoration the textile furnishings could tolerate. Count von Wackerbarth considered silver braid and decorations to be long since passé. In support of this view, he invoked Prince Eugene of Savoy’s most recent state apartments at the court in Vienna. This was the king’s response:
“On the matter of the gold and silver braid, I have long since been familiar with tastes in Vienna. They are fond of ponderous, overly ornate things, what we used to call Bum Sächsisches.”
Despite this difference in opinion, the count managed to convince the king of his ideas. As a result, the best quality silk velvet in the dominant shade of crimson was used for the textile furnishings, along with almost exclusively gold textile trim. In all, around 1500 metres (or 1,640 yards) of silk velvet was used, along with 3,500 metres of gold galloon braid – that’s over 3,800 yards. And quantities increased as one approached the Audience Chamber. The further one went, the more there was, and the greater the value. Against this gold backdrop, August the Strong succeeded in deploying interior design to showcase himself as a ruler with a magnificence that was virtually unmatched at the time.
