The magnificent fireplace in this room was created in 1778 by the Italian stucco master
craftsman, Pietro Nicolo Gagini, for the “Drimborn” villa near Aachen, which had been destroyed
in the war. In keeping with late 18th-century style, a lush flower basket is lavishly surrounded by
garlands and bows.
The Aachen escritoire dates from around 1780. The lower part is crafted as a chest of drawers
with a double-drawer arrangement and decorated with a cornucopia and leaf ornamentation. A
quarter-cylinder roller shutter – also richly ornamented with carving – connects the lower part
with the cabinet above. The carvings on the doors of the closed top cabinet feature musical
instruments: hunting horn, viola, trumpet, clarinet – and garlands of roses. This exceptional
piece of “functional furniture” is crowned by a small pointed bevel on each side of the curved top
cornice that is characteristic of Aachen Rococo furniture (the so-called “Aachen nose”).
A magnificent French precision pendulum clock from the first half of the 18th century is
decorated with fire-gilded rocaille appliqués. There is a relief – probably depicting Neptune –
above the glass below the clockwork, with the signature “Tallon, A Paris”. The richly decorated
pendulum is crowned with a female figure on an eagle.