 |
(Photo: Staaliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Mondadori Elect S.P.A. Milan, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art) |
Those Delta Upsilons playing Quarters have nothing on the Electors of Saxony. More than just a flashy tchotchke, this silver-gilt and iron automaton of Saint George slaying the dragon (circa 1620) must have been a fabulous conversation piece at their courtly events. On a typical evening, the horse’s head would be removed to reveal a hidden compartment that could be filled with wine or brandy; a windup mechanism in the base would then send George wheeling around the table until he came to rest in front of a lucky guest, who would be obliged to drain the flagon—probably the only drinking game ever to require the presence of a military saint. The automaton, part of the “Dresden Court” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is one of 250 princely treasures on a rare holiday from the “Green Vault” of the Electoral palace in Dresden (a series of rooms accessible by a secret staircase, with walls ten feet thick, damaged by bombing during World War II and now undergoing repair); once the restoration project is complete, the wandering George will never again be allowed to travel. (On view through January 30.)
Email
Print
Eight Year-End Films Vie for Oscar Contention
Sondheim and Lansbury on a Lifetime in Theater
The Black Keys Release Their Hip-hop Debut 
How the BQE Became an Artistic Muse
On Great Jones Street, Shopping Is Art 
Classic Fare, Old-world Charm at Le Caprice
Buy a Brownstone for Less Than $1 Million
Fifty of the City's Tastiest Soups
Reasons to Love New York 2009
New York Politicians Refuse to Quit
A-Rod Has Babe Ruth in His Sights
McCain Yields to the Party's Pressure
