Side chair (one of four) (part of a set)

The settees and chairs illustrated here (see 1974.356.114–.121) were made for the Franckenstein Pavilion in the gardens of Seehof Castle near Bamberg, one of the three summer residences in Southern Germany used by Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim, prince bishop of Würzberg and Bamberg. A true garden enthusiast, it was under von Seinsheim that the gardens of Seehof were embellished, which must have resembled the still extant Rococo gardens completed by von Seinsheim at Veitshöchheim. His love for gardens and garden imagery also carried over into the interior decoration and furnishings of his castles, as the Seehof furniture demonstrates. A unique example of German Rococo furniture executed in a more flamboyant style than its French prototypes, the ensemble was designed specifically for the Garden Room in the Franckenstein Pavilion. Used as an audience room, it was referred to as the "Green Trellis Chamber" in the 1774 Seehof inventory and painted entirely with trompe l'oeil trellis and foliage. The garden room's furniture was made to match: the backs of the chairs and settees are richly carved in the form of garden trellis-work with colored flowers and foliage.

Credit: The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973