Archives - Fine Art: Page 13
Author: amparo enriquez (Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:05 am)
Title: fine art
In 1942 some of the greatest artifacts of the German Baroque were taken from the Green Vault in Dresden, where they had been displayed barring a few interruptions since 1732, to Fortress Königstein 30 kilometres (19 miles) away. Wonderful works in ivory, jewellery, silver and gold thus escaped the Allied bombing of February 13th 1945 which devastated the city. But three months later a victorious Red Army carted them off Russia.
By a miracle of Soviet diplomacy the whole lot including Ivan the Terrible’s solid gold drinking bowl was returned to communist Dresden in 1958. some of the pieces have been on show since 1974, and two years ago 1,000 of the best works were given a new home on the first floor of the schloss which is the centerpiece of an increasingly sumptuous baroque city. But it has taken nearly half a century for 3,000 more pieces to be put on display one floor below, in the original Green Vault.
The Historic Green Vault, not to be confused with the two year old New Green Vault upstairs, has been lovingly restored in every detail. Visitors today are taken, five at a time, to another world in space and time. This is almost exactly what the nobles and other paying guests to Augustus the Strong’s treasury would have seen 274 years ago.
The vivid vermilion walls in one room and the malachite green of another have been matched molecule for molecule with the originals. So have the mercury backed mirrors which softly reflect only 60% of is limited, and tickets are booked months in advance, though early birds can queue for the small quota of tickets that is sold on the day.