Archivalien der Porzellansammlung der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Inventories of the Japanes Palace
The Japanese Palace in Dresden once housed the porcelain collection of Augustus the Strong (1670–1733), Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Several inventories document the entire interior of the palace in the 18th century.
The Palace Inventories of 1721 and 1779 are kept in the Porzellansammlung (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden). They have been published in their entirety for the first time on the museum’s digital platform, The Royal Dresden Porcelain Collection.
INVENTARIUM über das Palais zu Alt-Dresden. Anno 1721
The ‘Inventorisation of the Palace in Alt-Dresden. In the year 1721’ is the first known inventory. Created in 1721 and maintained until at least 1727, it lists East Asian and Meissen porcelain, soapstone carvings, furniture, artworks, as well as household appliances and textiles. Until 1759, the book was in the care of Martin Teuffert (1684–1760), who was the palace's bedmaster from 1717 to 1760.
Inventarium vom chur fürstl. sächsischen Japanischen Palais zu Neustadt bey Dresden, 1779
The ‘Inventorisation of the Saxon Elector’s Japanese Palace at Neustadt beside Dresden from 1779 is a revised version of the 1721 catalogue. It consists of five volumes and is structured according to the earlier directory. Due to numerous additions to the collection since 1733, but also as a result of losses during the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), a revision of the collection was carried out under the supervision of the bedmaster Joseph Lechner (1727–1808) and major-domoship secretary Johann Georg Anger (lifedates unknown). Marginal notes indicate that the inventory was actively maintained well into the 19th century.
