A Renaissance and Baroque delight
Weikersheim Palace and Garden
Weikersheim Palace, the Mirror Cabinet

A sumptuous safe for a fine collectionThe Mirror Cabinet

Princess Elisabeth Friederike Sophie's Mirror Cabinet is one of the most elaborate rooms within Weikersheim Palace. It was completed in 1718, making it one of the earliest examples in German palace architecture for a room like this.

Weikersheim Palace, Mirror Cabinet, detail

Figurines in front of mirrors appear double.

Safe place for treasures

The princess descended from a family of art-lovers and collected treasures: East-Asian porcelain, glazed earthenware from Ansbach, miniatures and elaborate figures in silver and precious stones. The cabinet was the right place for these precious items. The multitude of wall consoles provided space for small vases and figurines, with tables on which additional pieces could be displayed. Two large glass doors afford a view into the cabinet from the Audience Room, giving the impression of a walk-in collection cupboard.

Weikersheim Palace, Asian porcelain

Asian porcelain and glazed earthenware demonstrated wealth.

Red, gold and mirrors

The walls of the cabinet are covered in red silk damask. Artistic ornaments on the material divide the wall surfaces. Silver-plated and gilded lime-wood ribbons and leaf tendrils support round mirrors and small consoles. The design for the carvings on the cabinet is assumed to be the work of the Sommer family of sculptors from Künzelsau. Court carpenter Johann Heinrich Vogt ordered the glass for the mirrors from Spiegelberger Glashütte in the Swabian Forest.

Wind-up “Indian Priest”

Collection pieces adorned all the rooms in the palace used by the counts. Exceptionally valuable pieces stood on console tables and wall consoles in the mirror cabinet. They included a piece as unusual as the silver “Indian Priest” robotic figurine that could be wound up and would then run around. This rarity has been preserved until today.

Other highlights in Weikersheim Palace and Garden