Console table

This is one of two console tables carved by Franz Anton Weber for the abundantly decorated Cabinet of Mirrors or Spiegelkabinett, the Rococo highlight of the palace of Adalbert II von Walderdorff (r.1757-59), Prince-Bishop of Fulda. The consoles’ pair is still preserved in situ. Such mirrored cabinets were a standard part of a stylish succession of staterooms that alluded to the absolute authority of the patron. In eighteenth-century Germany a Prince-Bishop ruled as the spiritual head of the regional Catholic Church and as an independent prince of the Holy Roman Empire. In the residence of Fulda the Cabinet of Mirrors occupied the most important space on the second floor next to the Prince-Bishop’s bedchamber.

The central cartouche of the apron shows St.Simplitius, a patron saint of the local diocese. The extravagantly carved rocaille ornaments and the vividly characterized hippocampus on the crossed stretchers of the feet make this table exemplify the sculptural quality and inventiveness of the Rococo period in the Hesse region. Despite the superb craftsmanship of his artistic carvings, almost nothing is known about Franz Anton Weber, although he must have been very familiar with related works existing throughout the neighboring Franconia.