Page 7 - Women Collectors and the Rise of the Porcelain Cabinet (Collecting history in Europe)

The princesses never lost contact with their Dutch of Orange, was raising political claims as heir to the
homeland or their siblings, and so their architectural childless William III of Orange. 55
and other artistic projects should be seen primarily
in the context of the family. The sisters informed In addition to the direct pictorial representation
50
each other in detail about their plans and coordinated of his political ambitions, Frederick above all used
closely with one another, exchanging information, the rooms, whose overall appearance had been
architectural plans and craftsmen. The fl ow of largely determined by his mother 30 years earlier, to
information took place via well-functioning personal underscore his claim. In the period around 1700 the
networks. This transportation of Dutch ideas, forms porcelain chamber, the lacquer room and the grand
51
and structures enabled them not only to continue to kitchen were more symbolic of the House of Orange
live in the type of environment to which they were than any other pictorial or architectural element.
accustomed, but also to demonstrate the effi ciency Evidently, these prestigious rooms took up the entire
of Dutch craftsmanship and commerce abroad. north-western pavilion. On the mezzanine fl oor was
Collecting porcelain and faience, and the setting the dining hall (known as the Hasensaal or Hares’
up of rooms specifi cally for the display of porcelain Hall), next to which was probably the ‘Dutch Kitchen’.
collections was evidently considered an appropriate Above the dining hall were the largest rooms, the
way of presenting the House of Orange as a ‘peer (new) porcelain chamber and the adjacent ‘lacquered
56
group’. cabinet’ (‘Gelacktes Kabinett’). In a description written
in 1786, a distinction is made between the ‘large
The fi rst porcelain cabinet in a German palace porcelain chamber’ (‘große Porzellankammer’), fi tted out
was established in 1663 by Louise Henrietta von with blue-and-white wares, and the ‘small porcelain
Brandenburg, (1627–1667), wife of Frederick William, chamber with only colourful porcelain’ (‘kleine
57
Elector of Brandenburg, at her pleasure palace in Porzellankammer von lauter buntem Porzellan’). The décor
Orani enburg, just a few years after the creation of the and fi ttings of these rooms were among the most
lacquer and porcelain cabinet at Huis ten Bosch. Little sumptuous to be found in Europe at the time, as is
is known about the appearance of this room, except pointed out in numerous contemporary descriptions.
that the walls were covered with gold and blue leather,
the colours of the House of Orange, and that the This established a line of tradition in the collecting
ceiling was decorated with oil paintings of ‘Indian’ and presenting of porcelain that was continued by
scenes in golden frames. all the subsequent princesses who married into
52
the House of Brandenburg, each of whom set up
58
In 1667, just a few years after completion of the their own chinoiserie room. The dissemination
building, the Electress died, and in the 1680s and of new interior design ideas took place with similar
1690s her third son and successor as ruler, Elector success in the other German principalities, where the
Frederick III, later King Frederick I of Prussia, had daughters and daughters-in-law of the members of
the existing structure converted into a memorial for the House of Orange continued the tradition (Fig. 4).
his mother. Although the Dutch style of the exterior
was altered in favour of a more modern Italian style, This rapid spread of rooms for the display of
Frederick kept the memory of his mother alive by porcelain collections was assisted not only by the
adding numerous references to the founder of the kinship ties between the women who commissioned
palace, such as inscriptions and monograms. He them, but also by a newly developed design feature.
also had a new banqueting hall, the ‘Orange Hall’, In 1677, Amalia’s grandson William III of Orange
constructed. Its iconographical programme glorifi ed (1650–1702) married his cousin, Mary, Princess Royal
the genealogy of the House of Orange, with Frederick of England (1662–1694). Of the eight palaces used
59
himself as its end point, and expressed ‘praise of by the couple, only one – the hunting palace of Het
the virtues of the Royal Mother and the fame and Loo – was newly built under their joint auspices,
< Fig. 4
deeds of her parents and ancestors from the House but the other palaces did at least undergo interior Abraham Snaphaen (1651–
of Orange’. In around 1700 an orangery was built modernisation. It is clear from inventories and 1691), Henrietta Catharine
53
in the park, comprising several rooms, one of which eyewitness accounts that Mary had chinoiserie or of Orange at tea with her
daughters, 1686. Oil on panel,
contained a large ceiling painting depicting an porcelain rooms in several buildings that no longer 46.7 x 35.5 cm. Kulturstiftung
apotheosis of the Elector’s late mother. All this exist. The most ornate and impressive was evidently Dessau Wörlitz, Schloss
54
Oranienbaum, inv.
made it unequivocally clear that the Prussian King, the ‘Indiaanse Cabinet’ in Honselaarsdijk. Its execution no. M 01/2002. Photo:
legitimated by his mother’s descent from the House was entrusted to Daniel Marot (1660–1756), who had Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz.

W OMEN COLLECTORS AND THE RISE OF THE P ORCELAIN C ABINET 177

07-05-14 16:33
130850_p
130850_p001_280.indd 177001_280.indd 177 07-05-14 16:33