252 IN SEARCH OF OLD FRITZ
recreation. On the walls the inset paintings alternated most effective-
ly with mirrors and panelling, and the ceiling was decorated with
representations of tendrils of vines, spreading over a gilded pergola.
On the floor of the room the harpsichord, the music stands, the flutes
and the manuscripts waited only for the return of their master to
bring them to life. The sole reminder of a harsher world was repre-
sented by a fine portrait of Emperor Joseph II of Austria, which
Frederick set up by the entrance to his bedchamber Test this great and
enterprising man should escape from his sight' (Zimmermann, 1788,
40).
Visitors were rarely prepared for what they found when they
passed through this further door. Sherlock writes:
I enquired of the Swiss attendant 'Well then, where is the king's
bedroom?' 'Here it is, sir', he replied. I looked for some
magnificent bed. There was a passably fine cabinet at the end of
the chamber, but there was no bed inside. 'Where is the bed?'
said I. 'Over here, sir!' Behind a small screen, in the corner,
stood a very narrow bed with curtains of green silk. I asked my
guide about the location of the king's wardrobe, and received
the answer 'He wears all his clothes on his back!' (Sherlock,
1779, 20-1)
Beyond the bedchamber Frederick had his innermost sanctum in a
tiny circular library, or rather reading cabinet. This was a comforting
refuge, and the decorations of gilded bronze sat most agreeably upon
the warm brown of the cedar panelling.
In the summertime orange trees in large tubs were ranged along
the terrace outside, and Frederick liked to take the air under the eyes
of the long-suffering caryatids who supported the heavy entablature
of the pavilion. The view in front extended over the formal gardens to
Potsdam town and the Havel landscape, but at either end the terrace
was terminated by hedges and those little grass plots where Frederick
had the tombstones of his dogs.
Sans Souci shared its hillside with two large single-storey build-
ings. The New Chambers (Neue Kammern) to the west were remod-
elled from an orangery (1747) to serve as guest apartments. Hard
under the eastern end of the Sans Souci pavilion the massive single
vault of the Picture Gallery (Bildergalerie) housed the Flemish and
Italian canvases which Frederick bought in such quantities in the
final decades of his reign.
The gardens and park were copiously adorned with statuary,
many of the pieces depicting maidens writhing in the grasp of bearded
and muscular fellows who were clearly up to no good. Among the
architectural set pieces the most notable was the Chinese Tea House