Magnificent Games Table
Augsburg (?), after 1683
Oak, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl
76,2 x 104,0 x 75,0 cm
Inv.-Nr. 95/58
Acquired with the support of the Freundeskreis des Bayerischen Nationalmuseums, the Bayerische Vereinsbank, the Bayerische Landesbank and the Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank in 1995, Munich
Gallery 33
This games table decorated with such precious materials as tortoiseshell and lavishly engraved mother-of-pearl is more than just a piece of royal furniture. The representations on its top also refer to a vital chapter of Bavarian history. They allude to the decisive battle of 1683 in which the Holy Roman Empire defeated the Turks at the Kahlenberg near Vienna. Max Emanuel, Prince Elector of Bavaria, whose portrait is engraved in mother-of-pearl to the left of the Emperor Leopold I, served with distinction as a commander in the forces of the allied princes. Vanquished Turks and putti bearing arms between the portraits of the other field commanders also allude to military triumphs. Like its companion piece, which survives in fragmentary condition, this games table may have been a gift from the Emperor to his son-in-law, Max Emanuel, Prince Elector of Bavaria. It has to have been given before 1704 because, after Bavaria fought against the Imperial forces at the Battle of Blenheim in that year, the Emperor went on to impose an Imperial ban on the Prince Elector of Bavaria in 1706.
des Bayerischen Nationalmuseum
des Bayerischen Nationalmuseum
