Eyes on me! A whole host of animals are hidden within Favorite Palace, which also served as a hunting lodge. But the animals that fly and crawl across walls, ceilings and floors are not just game animals, insects and exotic birds also abound.
Lizard motif in the Florentine cabinet.
The elaborate scagliola floors of inlayed stucco marble are one of the highlights of Favorite Palace. Little animals repeatedly appear between the late Baroque ornamentation on the polished plaster surface. First and foremost: the parrot. Even more animals hurry about the floor of the Florentine cabinet, the most lavish room in the palace, including a mouse, various insects and a lizard.
Parrot in the Florentine cabinet.
Ornate pietra dura panels, masterful examples of lapidary art, decorate the walls of the Florentine cabinet. They depict parrots, as well as native birds. The colorful birds were especially beloved as part of the Chinese vogue of the period, a fashion that can be found at every turn within the palace. Cranes, cocks and raptors can also be found on original Asian and Asian-inspired wallpaper, wall hangings and furnishings.
Ceramic boar’s head from the glazed earthenware collection.
Sculpted parrots, figures from the Höchst factory, sit in display cabinets as part of the glazed earthenware collection on the ground floor. The collection also boasts the famous “showpieces,” terrines in the shapes of animals and vegetables. They represent what would have been on the menu at hunting parties: Ducks, snipe, a wood grouse and a turkey, a large boar's head on a platter, and a turtle. And last but not least: Animals are also depicted on the countless blue and white tiles found in the sala terrena, along the stairs and on the fireplaces.
There are many animals to discover at the palace.
