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• BM #: 1948-64-124
• Place Acquired: Sans Souci, Potsdam, Germany (52.4042° N, 13.0385° E)
• Date Acquired: 1892
• Material: Silk and chestnut seeds

Cannister holding three chestnuts of differing sizes and orange-tinted silk material.

Reeve was traveling through Europe in 1892, due to his work on the Relief Commission for the Great Russian Famine. Reeve made a stop through Prussia, most likely having obtained the silk and chestnuts while visiting.

Sans Souci in Potsdam, Germany, was the summer palace of Frederick the Great. It was notable by its ornate Rococo design and lavish gardens that contained all sorts of plant life (Palaces and Gardens, UNESCO). The palace itself was a large chateau in the middle of a park and the gardens contained many types of trees, but one of the most important ones was the chestnut tree. The inside of the palace is just as lavish as the outside appears, gilded in white and gold. The palace was the host of many important historical figures and had enough rooms to cater to them all and more.

The palace was also the summer residence of many famous residents throughout Frederick’s reign. Voltaire was one of the most influential figures to take residence in Sanssouci from 1750-1753 and was given his own room for his visitations in the summer (The Life of Voltaire 1903). Voltaire’s room was fit for the bright-minded French Enlightenment author, philosopher, and historian. The silk was taken from his paper basket. Voltaire’s room was also notable thanks to it being patterned with flower designs, giving it the famous name of the “flower room.” Voltaire was a member of Frederick’s court, alongside being a friend of the King. The two men sent letters to one another detailing their newest poetry, often complimenting on another. However, once they met, their relationship became strained and after 1753, Voltaire never returned to the Sanssouci Palace.

For Further Reading

• Laushway, Ester. 1998 “Potsdam: spies, stars & Sans Souci.” Europe. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.rollins.edu/apps/doc/A53567268/AONE?u=wint47629&sid=AONE&xid=e3022e47.
• Oliver-Smith, P. 1982. Sanssouci Palace, Music Room, interior. Visual Resources Collection, Department of Art History, Rice University. https://scholarship.rice.edu/handle/1911/84076
• Stiftung Preussische Schlösser und Gärten. “Sanssouci Palace” In Palaces and Gardens. UNESCO.
• Biblioteque de Geneve Musee Voltaire. Musee Voltaire. http://institutions.ville-geneve.ch/en/bibliotheque-de-geneve/get-to-know-la-bibliotheque/sites/musee-voltaire/museum/
• Jenkins, D.T. 2003. “Textile Designs and Furnishings” In The Cambridge History of Western Textiles, Volume 1. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
• Unknown. Voltaire Room, Sanssouci. 1883. Photographs, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California.
• Mühlbach, L. Berlin and Sans-Souci; Or, Frederick the Great and His Friends. Project Gutenberg.
• Tallentyre, S. G. 1903. “Flying Visits to Frederick” In The Life of Voltaire. 160-172. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.