XX.
THE GREEN VAULTS OF DRESDEN.
THE RICHEST TREASURY IN THE WORLD.—HOW THE SAXON PRINCES ACQUIRED IT.—THE DIFFERENT CABINETS, AND WHAT THEY CONTAIN.—WONDERFUL CARVINGS, MOSAICS, AND CURIOSITIES.—SPLENDID GOLD AND SILVER PLATE.—MAGNIFICENT ROYAL REGALIA.—A LUXURIOUS AND GALLANT MONARCH.—HIS ROMANTIC ADVENTURES.—A MARVELLOUS TOY.—DAZZLING EMERALDS, PEARLS, RUBIES, AND DIAMONDS.—THE LARGEST AND MOST PRECIOUS GEMS ON THE GLOBE.—INGENIOUS AND DESPERATE ATTEMPTS TO ROB THE VAULTS.—A THIEF WALLED UP ALIVE.—EFFECT OF EXPOSING HIS SKELETON.—ARE THE PRICELESS JEWELS FALSE?—WHAT AN ENTERPRISING SCOUNDREL MIGHT ACCOMPLISH.
The Green Vaults (Grüne Gewölbe) of Dresden, as they are called from the hue of the hangings which once covered them, are in the Zwinger, a group of buildings erected by Augustus II. as a vestibule to a new palace. They are not under ground as might be supposed from their name, and from the fact that they contain the treasures of the King of Saxony. They are vaulted apartments, eight in number, stored with rare carving, mosaics, gold and silver plate, precious stones, and an endless variety of curious and invaluable articles.
The collection is the richest possessed by any European monarch, and altogether beyond what so small a power would be thought able to collect or keep. The Saxon princes, it must be remembered, however, were of far more consequence and influence in the past than they are in the present. The Freiberg silver mines alone were a source of immense revenue before the discovery of America, and Saxony had various means of acquiring wealth of which she is now wholly deprived.
I have examined nearly all the royal treasuries abroad, and none of them are at all equal to the collection in Dresden,which is likely to create an agreeable surprise even after one has heard its variety and value extolled. I have known political economists to regret that what might be converted into so much money should be allowed to lie idle, and I have met others, again, who regarded the treasures of art and the priceless jewels gathered there as so many baubles unworthy of serious consideration. Persons of cultivated taste and lovers of beauty, however, can hardly be so narrow in their opinions, for they will find in the Green Vaults something more than capital uninvested, or glittering toys. The princes deserve commendation for the liberal manner in which they expended their wealth for the æsthetic benefit of those to come after them.
WONDERFUL WORKS OF ART.
The apartments are so arranged that each one you enter surpasses the last in interest and the variety of its contents. A great deal of space would be required to enumerate all the articles, though the principal may be easily set down.
The first apartment is devoted to bronzes of the nicest and most curious workmanship. There are copies in miniature of some of the famous statues, that cannot be fully appreciated without close attention to detail and a liberal understanding of art. A crucifix by John of Bologna, and a small dog, stretching itself, by Peter Visscher, are masterpieces of their kind.
In the second apartment are ivory carvings of remarkable excellence; among them a number of beautiful vases, some quite large, cut out of a single piece. There are, also, a battle scene by Albrecht Durer, a crucifix by Michael Angelo, and a marvellous group of some ninety figures carved in one piece sixteen inches high, representing the fall of Lucifer and his wicked angels. Nothing could be finer or more exact than these figures. Small as they are, they are perfect, and plainly show what extraordinary patience and skill the artist must have had. A goblet, of stag’s horn, cut like a cameo, in figures portraying the chase, is admirably wrought, as is also a cup on which the story of the Foolish Virgins is delineated.
The third apartment has Florentine mosaics, engraved shells, ostrich eggs carved and ornamented, a singular chimney-piece of Dresden china set with precious stones, paintings in enamel, and a number of portraits of historic characters, the most noticeable of which are Peter the Great and Augustus II., surnamed the Strong.
CUPS OF GREAT VALUE.
The fourth apartment is filled with the gold and silver plate formerly used at the banquets of the Saxon princes, a portion of which was wont to be carried to Frankfort on the occasion of the coronation of the German emperors by the electors of Saxony, who held the hereditary office of arch-marshal at those imposing ceremonies. Beyond the mere value, this plate is not desirable. If it were mine, I should melt it at once into the coin of the realm, since it has neither grace nor beauty of form. It may seem very grand to eat and drink out of such vessels, but they would be found extremely inconvenient for practical purposes. The china of our day is altogether superior to all the gold and silver plate that has ever been heaped on royal tables.
The fifth apartment is taken up with agates, crystals, chalcedony, lapis lazuli, and other varieties of semi-precious stones. Some cups of moss agates are particularly beautiful, and two goblets, composed entirely of cut gems, have a value of ten thousand dollars each. An equestrian statue of Charles II. of England, made from a solid piece of cast iron, represents him in the character of St. George, and is skilfully done. The eminent sculptor, Colin of Mechlin, has shown the cunning of his art by two spirited combats of knights, though they are only wooden heads; wood being the material of which the carvings are made. The largest enamel painting known, a Magdalen by Dinglinger, is also shown there.
The sixth apartment abounds in figures carved in ivory and wood, many of them caricatures of men and animals, which express the grotesqueness of the German mind. Single pearls of extraordinary size, nearly all found in the River Elster, are cut into odd shapes, some of them representing rustics, jesters, and elves. A pearl, large as a hen’s egg, isintended to portray a Spanish court dwarf, and is superbly done. Trinket as it is, it could not be purchased for twenty-five thousand dollars. There is, besides, any number of costly trifles, on which a vast deal of ingenuity and money must have been expended, and which are interesting from their artistic merit.
The seventh apartment is radiant with the splendid regalia used at the coronation of Augustus II.
Augustus is inseparably associated with the history of Saxony, and the antecedents of Dresden. He succeeded his father, John George III., as Elector of Saxony, though not until after his elder brother’s death, in 1694, and was elected to the throne of Poland, made vacant, two years later, by the decease of John Sobieski. The Polish nobles were unwilling to be ruled over by anybody but a Roman Catholic, and Augustus, whose theology was of a very accommodating quality, abandoned Protestantism for the sake of the crown.
Between his wars, his intrigues, and his parades, his sixty-three years of life were superlatively busy. He was highly educated for his time, and so much interested in art that he began the collection of pictures in the Dresden Gallery, and purchased many of the valuable curiosities now in the Green Vaults. His reign was marked by luxury and splendor, and his court was the constant resort of artists, alchemists, and adventurers of both sexes, on whom he lavished countless favors. The celebrated Countess of Königsmark was one of his many mistresses, and bore him a son, who subsequently figured so prominently in French history as Maurice, Count de Saxe.
ROMANTIC STORIES OF A KING.
Augustus was such a prodigal that he loaded Saxony with debt, and inspired the magnates of Poland to imitate his improvident example in Warsaw. Elegant, accomplished, daring, and unscrupulous, he made war on men and love to women to the end of his days. If all the accounts be true, he was as charming as Apollo and as strong as Hercules. The archives of Dresden attest his wonderful muscle to such adegree that Samson would have been no match for him. One of his pastimes was to become enamoured of some distinguished lady he had never seen; go in search of her; throw her husband, father, or brother, just as it happened, over high walls, and then carry her off in his arms as if she had been a feather weight.
These tales are interesting, but there are too many of them to be credible. I cannot tell how large the Saxon or Polish women were a century and a half ago, but I will lay a large wager that Augustus could not carry very far many of them I have seen recently. If he had the taste ascribed to him, I am sure he would not make the attempt, unless it should happen to be in the night, when darkness reduces beauties and beldames to the same level.
ROYAL PASTIMES.
Persons going to Dresden, or indeed to any part of Saxony, will spare themselves questions by presuming that Augustus has done nearly everything worth doing in the entire kingdom. He is to Saxony what St. Patrick is to the south of Ireland, King David to Scotland, or Charles V. to Belgium.
The eighth and last apartment entirely eclipses all the others in the richness and magnificence of its contents. One of the wonders of this cabinet, called the Court of the Great Mogul, was made by Dinglinger, an artist justly considered the Benvenuto Cellini of Saxony. The Court represents the Emperor Aurengzebe on his throne, surrounded by courtiers and soldiers,—about one hundred and forty figures,—in pure gold enamelled, attired in costumes appropriate to the country and the time. Each figure has its individual expression and character, as will be perceived by close observation.
This marvellous toy, which is really a work of the highest art, employed Dinglinger (he was the court jeweller during the early part of the eighteenth century) for nearly ten years, and cost one hundred thousand dollars. Another carving of a similar character portrays different artisans with a fineness and finish which no one would expect, considering its diminutive proportions. There are also other specimens of hisexceeding skill that fully entitle him to the fame he has achieved.
A specimen of uncut Peruvian emeralds, bestowed by the Emperor Charles V. on the Elector of Saxony, is one of the finest in the world, and a mass of solid native silver from the Himmelfüst mine of Freiberg so well illustrates its richness as to enable me to believe that in fifty years nearly twenty-two hundred tons of silver were obtained from that single mine.
The Saxon regalia there exhibited includes the sword of the elector, carried by the princes at the imperial coronations; the decorations of a miner’s uniform made for the Elector John George; a great number of chains, collars, and orders of the Garter, Golden Fleece, and Polish Eagle; and a curious antique portrait (a cameo of onyx) of Augustus the Strong. A sardonyx six and a half inches long, and four and a half broad, reputed to be the largest extant, attracts much attention from its oval shape and beautiful regularity.
Two rings once worn by Martin Luther appeal not a little to earnest Protestants. One of these, an enamelled seal ring, cut with a death’s head, and the motto “Mori sæpe cogita” (Reflect often on death), is sufficiently mournful in suggestion to satisfy the most dismal of theologians. The other ring is a carnelian bearing a rose, and in its centre a cross.
A RARE COLLECTION OF JEWELS.
Then comes a glass case of the rarest and costliest jewels, the first division containing superb sapphires, the largest of them uncut, the gift of Peter the Great. The second division is full of splendid emeralds; the third of magnificent rubies (the two largest weighing forty-eight and sixty carats); the fourth abounding in beautiful pearls, one native set being little inferior to the Oriental; while the fifth division is radiant with diamonds.
Such another collection does not exist anywhere in the world. If these diamonds were sold for the sum they would very readily bring, they would more than pay off, it is said, theentire national debt of Saxony. The diamond decorations for the gala dress of the elector consists of buttons, collar, sword and scabbard, all incrusted with the largest and most valuable stones, some of them weighing fifty carats each. The most remarkable of the stones is a green brilliant, weighing one hundred and sixty carats, and said to be worth two millions of dollars. There are also various orders studded with diamonds and many single gems, yellow, rose, and green in color, as well as pure white.
DIAMONDS IN ABUNDANCE.
Admirers of diamonds can have an ocular banquet there; for the collection is magnificent beyond description. I have seen women hang over them until their eyes fairly watered (I wonder if this is the reason they are called gems of the first water), and I have noticed men regard them with a passion for possession that savored of wildness. As mere objects of beauty, they are deserving of all admiration. Those priceless gems are constant miracle-workers. The smallest ray of light that falls upon them is converted into a glorious sheen. They make the very atmosphere brilliant, emitting from every point a radiance which is dazzling. Hardly any conjuration of magic can be greater. The blaze of jewels, when the sunlight touches them, is almost overpowering. The mines of Golconda, as they were in their palmiest days, appear to be open, and all their glorious treasures to be flashing, scintillating, coruscating at once.
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST THEFT.
One might imagine that the diamonds and many of the other valuables of the Green Vaults would be in danger from the admission of strangers. The naturalness of this opinion has doubtless given rise to the story that unseen soldiers have their muskets levelled through invisible loopholes in the walls at the head or breast of everybody entering the royal treasury. This is a mere romance, never having had the smallest foundation in fact. Such precautions are not at all necessary; for nobody could steal anything, and get away with it, even if he should try. The costliest objects are covered with strong iron or steel wires, not sufficient to obstruct the view, bµt enough to prevent their seizure by any designing or dishonestperson. Moreover, the custodian, who conducts you through the cabinets, locks and bolts each door after him, so that the thief could not easily make his escape; and if he did succeed in getting beyond the walls, an alarm would be immediately given, which would almost necessarily insure his capture.
The value of the entire collection at Dresden it is almost impossible to give. I have heard it estimated at from twenty millions to twenty-five millions of dollars, and even as high as fifty millions. Most of the works of art, as well as the jewels, are actually beyond price; for they could not be replaced. They could not be purchased any more than the Raffaelles, Correggios, and Titians, in the famous Picture Gallery in the same city.
It is said that numerous efforts have been made during the past hundred years to rob the Green Vaults.
One of these was by two Poles, who had had a wide experience in forgery, burglary, and crimes of all sorts, in the early part of the present century. They had at first designed to secure a number of confederates, but afterwards abandoned the idea, fearing that their secret would be unsafe when so many persons shared it. After revolving various plans in their mind, they concluded to depend upon themselves alone, and accordingly entered the vaults, pretending to be Protestant clergymen from Geneva, in company with a large party of visitors, composed mostly of Englishmen and Americans. When they had reached the last cabinet, and while one of them was making particular inquiries of the custodian, and attracting the attention of the party by his large fund of information (he spoke English with remarkable facility), his companion contrived to hide himself in something closely resembling a bale, the material for which he had concealed upon his person. A quarter of an hour after, one of the supposed-to-be clergymen was missed, and his disappearance was explained by the positive statement of his confederate that he had returned to his hotel while they were in the third apartment, having an engagement that demanded his presence.A number of the visitors thought they had seen him a few minutes before; but the disguised Pole was so positive in his declaration, that they naturally fancied themselves mistaken.
CAUGHT IN THE VAULTS.
The party at last went out, and late that night the concealed villain, who was prepared with matches and a dark lantern, crept out of his spurious bale, and, with instruments provided beforehand, got into the cases, cut the wires, and secured many of the most precious diamonds. He then attempted to get out of the vaults, but, to his astonishment and consternation, they were too strong for him. The partner of his guilt was at his appointed post on the outside, and waited in vain until daylight for the robber who was to come forth at a stated hour with his treasures. The other Pole had secured his great wealth; but, by a strange shortsightedness not uncommon to villains of his class, he had not calculated closely enough upon the means of getting away with it. Finding that the vaults were his prison, he tried to put the jewels back in such a shape that their displacement would not be noticed, and then crept once more into his bale. The custodian entered with a number of sight-seers about noon the day following. His quick eye discovered at once that the diamonds had been tampered with, and this fact, taken in connection with the mysterious disappearance of the previous day, confirmed him in the belief that a robbery had been attempted, and that the robber must be hidden in that particular apartment. Consequently he ordered a guard, and a thorough search having been made, the thief was soon exposed. The scoundrel, knowing it would be useless to deny his design, made a full confession in respect to himself, and was tried and sentenced to prison for twenty-five years, equivalent to life, for he was at the time of his capture more than fifty-five. After serving ten years of his sentence, he made his escape by bribing, as it was supposed, some of the officials, and not long after was killed in Palermo while attempting to break into the house of an English resident of the Sicilian city.
About 1798 some twenty Viennese rogues went to Dresden for the express purpose of robbing the Green Vaults of their most valuable jewels. Their plan was to undermine the treasury, enter it by night, and make their egress by the same channel. Their scheme was bold, and might have prospered, beset as it was with obstacles. Any and all result was frustrated, however, by the betrayal of the gang by one of its number, tempted by the hope of a liberal reward for his treachery. He was, it is asserted, handsomely paid, and the information which he furnished caused the arrest of three of the conspirators; the rest leaving the city suddenly, and placing themselves beyond the reach of the law. Two of the miscreants were sent to prison, and the third, who was a native Greek, and reported to have been for some years a brigand, cheated justice by poisoning himself in his cell.
MAN ENCLOSED IN A WALL.
About fifty years ago, as the story is told in Dresden, certain changes were made in the Green Vaults, involving the laying of a new interior wall of brick. This intended addition having become generally known, an enterprising rogue in the city conceived a plan of robbing the treasury by concealing himself in a part of the wall then unfinished; designing to get out at night, after the workmen had gone away, and carry off whatever was lightest and of most value. He did succeed in concealing himself, as he had wished; but unfortunately for him, the masons worked more rapidly than he had supposed they would, and enclosed him completely. Whether he knew at the time what would happen, and was afraid of revealing his presence, or whether he was totally ignorant of the peril of his situation, will forever remain unknown. As may be imagined, the thief, being, like other mortals, unable to live without air, soon succumbed to his peculiar surroundings, though his fate was a secret for years after.
New improvements, then making, caused the removal of the brick wall, and within it the perfect skeleton of a man was discovered. Great and exciting was the mystery at first; but diligent inquiry, and vivid recalling of the date when thework was done, solved the enigma by establishing a connection between the finding of the skeleton and the disappearance of a certain notorious criminal. The skeleton of the thief was put together, and for some time occupied a conspicuous position in the vaults, as a warning to all inclined to follow his example. But it served as an example instead, as was shown by the fact that several attempts at robbery were made there within six months after the grim exposure. The skeleton was then removed from the vaults, and as is popularly supposed, has been transferred in a multiplied form to the private closets of the Dresdeners.
Not a great while ago, a story was started to the effect that the principal diamonds in the Green Vaults had been stolen by some of the officials of the court, and replaced with counterfeit stones. This report obtained wide currency, and was generally believed among the common people. It may be inferred that there was no basis whatever for the tale, as any one who is a judge of jewels may easily determine for himself. If it were possible to make such excellent counterfeits of diamonds as are those now at Dresden, genuine gems would certainly lose much of their value, since there would be no method of distinguishing between the real and spurious.
The contents of the Green Vaults have for generations been a source of anxiety to the Saxon princes. Again and again, during the troublous times in Germany, they have been compelled to carry their treasures to the mountains in the region along the Elbe, known as the Saxon Switzerland, and to keep them there for security until the peril of plunder had passed. This sudden transportation of the royal valuables was very frequent during the Seven Years’ War, and it is reported that many of them were lost in the haste and excitement attending their removal.
THE GREEN VAULTS A TEMPTATION.
The Green Vaults offer a constant temptation to the rogues of the old world, and it would not be at all surprising if some man or men, possessed of a rare genius for pilfering, should yet accomplish what has so frequently failed. Robbery andburglary are so much a profession nowadays, and so much real talent is employed in their behalf, that those who have been graduated in the calling will be inconsiderate of their own interest if they do not some time perfect a scheme which will result in plundering the greatest and richest treasury on the globe.
CHANCE FOR A BURGLAR.
A rich reward awaits any one who will enter the Green Vaults of Dresden and carry away their treasures, or so much of them as could be easily carried by one man. Possibly an American or English burglar will yet be found who can succeed in this daring enterprise.