“Crystal Goblet presented by Augustus II the Strong to Russian Emperor Peter the Great” 16th century (rock crystal); 17th century (mounting). Material: rock crystal, gold, rubies [1000×1410]
“Crystal Goblet presented by Augustus II the Strong to Russian Emperor Peter the Great” 16th century (rock crystal); 17th century (mounting). Material: rock crystal, gold, rubies [1000×1410]
Augustus II “the Strong,” Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, earned the nickname not from a hard political stance but from actual feats of brute force: he reportedly snapped iron horseshoes, broke silver plates in half for fun, and could lift several men at once, usually during banquets and while wearing full armor, because nothing says “royal authority” like turning your dinner party into a strongman contest.
He was also said to bend swords and iron bars, and crush pewter tankards and silver goblets after drinking, not in anger mind you, but as party tricks. The court silversmiths hated him.
He once subdued a charging stag bare-handed in front of astonished nobles. And last but certainly not least he was rumored to have fathered over 300 children, which, if true, might be the only strength feat that surpasses the others in stamina.
As one wag at the Dresden court quipped: “His Majesty’s treaties may bend, but so do his horseshoes.”
DukeDamage on
Emperors rocked pimp glasses and called goblets or chalaces
lotsanoodles on
The story of the invention of European porcelain begins with King Augustus.
There was some teenage hipster poser drunkenly boasting in bars that he was secretly a great alchemist and was getting close to discovering how to turn base metal into gold. Augustus was told about this and because he loved gold he had him thrown into the royal dungeon and told to get cracking with the gold making and he would be rewarded and set free. He was given access to lots of chemicals but all he could seem to create was lots of noxious fumes and lumps of misshapen slag. The King was also working on another project of trying to make hard paste porcelain which at the time was worth as much as gold. Seeing as the kid was getting nowhere with gold he put him onto the porcelain project as an assistant. As luck would have it a shipment of the right type of clay and ash etc was delivered to the castle and after some experiment they actually fucking did it. The king was thrilled but wanted to keep the guy on to really perfect it because the guy running the porcelain project had unexpectedly dropped dead. He was allowed some freedoms, like leaving the castle to go to the pub, but he quickly became an alcoholic and died.
Don’t go boasting in pubs about skills you dont have as somebody might take you seriously.
4 Comments
WOW! This is incredibly beautiful.
Augustus II “the Strong,” Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, earned the nickname not from a hard political stance but from actual feats of brute force: he reportedly snapped iron horseshoes, broke silver plates in half for fun, and could lift several men at once, usually during banquets and while wearing full armor, because nothing says “royal authority” like turning your dinner party into a strongman contest.
He was also said to bend swords and iron bars, and crush pewter tankards and silver goblets after drinking, not in anger mind you, but as party tricks. The court silversmiths hated him.
He once subdued a charging stag bare-handed in front of astonished nobles. And last but certainly not least he was rumored to have fathered over 300 children, which, if true, might be the only strength feat that surpasses the others in stamina.
As one wag at the Dresden court quipped: “His Majesty’s treaties may bend, but so do his horseshoes.”
Emperors rocked pimp glasses and called goblets or chalaces
The story of the invention of European porcelain begins with King Augustus.
There was some teenage hipster poser drunkenly boasting in bars that he was secretly a great alchemist and was getting close to discovering how to turn base metal into gold. Augustus was told about this and because he loved gold he had him thrown into the royal dungeon and told to get cracking with the gold making and he would be rewarded and set free. He was given access to lots of chemicals but all he could seem to create was lots of noxious fumes and lumps of misshapen slag. The King was also working on another project of trying to make hard paste porcelain which at the time was worth as much as gold. Seeing as the kid was getting nowhere with gold he put him onto the porcelain project as an assistant. As luck would have it a shipment of the right type of clay and ash etc was delivered to the castle and after some experiment they actually fucking did it. The king was thrilled but wanted to keep the guy on to really perfect it because the guy running the porcelain project had unexpectedly dropped dead. He was allowed some freedoms, like leaving the castle to go to the pub, but he quickly became an alcoholic and died.
Don’t go boasting in pubs about skills you dont have as somebody might take you seriously.