Baroque Treasures - Schloßhof

s-shaped wooden crosspieces (“stretchers” ) ending in flowing scrolls, or extravagantly
curvilinear legs with scroll feet. In order to give the interiors a unified character, the
furniture was stylistically matched to the rooms and their fittings. Particular mention
should be made of three motifs which recur on so many of the furnishings: the shell, the
acanthus, and the so-called “Laub- und Bandel werk” (leaf- and strapwork), a decorative
element that was particularly widespread in the German-speaking world in the first quarter
of the eighteenth century. The marble tops of the console tables were in colours
matching the furnishings and fittings of the rooms in which they stood.
The sets of seating furniture are usually composed of settees, chairs, and stools,
which either have canework seats and backs or are upholstered. The materials that have
been used for the re-upholstering of the furniture are very largely the same, and in the
same colours, as those originally used by Prince Eugene at Schloss Hof.
Typical of what is probably the earliest group of chairs and stools (to be seen in the
Coffee Room and the Dining Room) are the legs and crosspieces incorporating the cur va -
ceous mouldings known as “Schafsknochen” (“sheep’s bones” ). A number of these pieces
are also carved with acanthus decoration. Fireplace screens were considered an integral
part of the furniture and were designed to match the chairs and wall decoration.
Many of the Schloss Hof fireplace screens from Prince Eugene’s time still have the original
fabric coverings, some in painted, printed, or embroidered Chinese silk.
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