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Sale 114
Lot 466
Saxony. Friedrich August I (1694-1733). Silver Klippe Shooting Taler, 1708. Crowned AR monogram. Rev. Shooting range in center with band around (Dav 2651; KM 770; Schnee 1006). In NGC holder graded MS 61. Value $1,000 - UP
Friedrich August I had a reputation as a builder and a patron of culture within the Electorate of Saxony. Impressed by the splendor of Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles, the Elector emulated the opulence of the French Sun King in his development of Dresden Castle and his summer residences at the castles of Moritzburg and Huburtusburg. In 1723, he established the Grünes Gewölbe ("Green Vault") as the first public museum in Europe with a remarkable collection of paintings. Also following the absolutist style of Louis XIV, Friedrich August I frequently sponsored lavish entertainments for the nobility-after all if the nobles were at court for masquerade balls or frivolous games and contests they could not be elsewhere plotting to undermine the central authority. In addition, the Elector of Saxony himself seems to have taken great pleasure in such entertainments.
The present klippe thaler commemorates the inauguration of a shooting gallery ZU ERGETZNUNG DER VERSAMLETEN STAENDE ("for the entertainment of the assembled Estates") on February 13, 1708. This was constructed for a Schützenfest (shooting festival)-an annual marksmanship competition that evolved from medieval training drills for Dresden's town militia. The detailed bird's-eye view of the range reveals that seven people could compete at once, apparently shooting from within ornamental arches or pavilions offering protection from sun and rain. The large central arch/pavilion was reserved for the Schützenkönig ("King Marksman"), the victor in the previous year's Schützenfest. Participants could shoot at circular targets at the far end or at a wooden eagle raised on a pole in the middle of the range. When the eagle served as the target, specific numbers of points were awarded for shooting off different features of the bird based on difficulty.
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