Opposite the portrait of August the Strong on the wall, there’s a magnificent long case clock. Is it an original? Or a faithful reproduction? In this case, the question is easy to answer. The clock was made in around 1750, so it’s an original. However, it had to be painstakingly restored before it arrived here.
The rooms of the State Apartment are newly built, and the furnishings were recreated based on old examples. That was unavoidable, since the devastation caused by the bombing in February 1945 was enormous. Only parts of the masonry had survived. But in a project involving the highest of aspirations and a major effort, the German Federal Government and the Free State of Saxony committed a great deal of funding to ensuring that we can once again experience the baroque glory of the 18th century.
A reconstruction that is faithful to the original – that means the rooms have been recreated exactly as they were before the destruction, right down to the smallest detail. Many elements – especially the textiles – were even made using the same manufacturing techniques. Which means they were woven, machine-knitted or embroidered by hand.
The surviving remnants were helpful in this respect. An original vase-shaped finial from the tester over the bed provided all the information for the textiles used in the bedroom. A piece of the original crimson velvet cover of the audience chair had also survived. Thanks to that remnant, the velvet could be reconstructed right down to the detail of the yarn and thread-count.
Another important factor in the faithful reconstruction was the exceptionally rich trove of papers and pictures from the time when the apartment was originally furnished. As well as the correspondence between August the Strong and Imperial Count von Wackerbarth, the detailed drawings prepared by Raymond Leplat were crucial – he was the royal interior designer and inspector of collections.
As far as the surviving furniture is concerned, you’ll notice that there are occasional gaps. From a sense of respect for the superior artistic quality of the originals, it was decided that missing items should not be replaced with modern copies. That’s why I would like to repeat our earlier request: please don’t touch anything. To ensure that your experience of these rooms is as authentic as possible, there are no annoying roped-off areas. Please support our efforts in this matter and do not touch. Thank you.
