According to the historical inventory, there are as many as 185 faces carved into the cherry stone. And while, by the last count, the pip has only 113 faces, it remains one of the Neues Grünes Gewölbe’s most fascinating attractions. When describing the holdings of the Neues Grünes Gewölbe, one superlative follows the next: The largest green diamond ever found is exhibited here.
And the collection’s showpiece, representing the lavish birthday celebrations of Mogul emperor Aurangzeb, who ruled over rich India with absolute power, is studded with no less than 5120 diamonds, 160 rubies, 164 emeralds, one sapphire, 16 pearls and two cameos. The court jeweller Johann Melchior Dinglinger and his aides worked for more than six years, beginning in 1701, to create the greatest work of European jewellery art.
While in the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe, works of treasury art merge with the unique interior design to form a Baroque Gesamtkunstwerk, at the Neues Grünes Gewölbe – just one storey up – the focus is on approximately 1000 individual exhibits, some of which were only included in the collection following the death of August the Strong. Fascinating objects of gold, silver, enamel, precious stone, ivory, coconut shell and ostrich eggshell are shown in non-reflective glass cabinets, radiant thanks to state-of-the-art lighting – a presentation that sets a new benchmark internationally.
