Miscellaneous
Maps, views and diagrams of military reviews and encampments
Pillnitz, 1725
PLAN / DU CAMPEMENT PAR L’ORDRE / DU ROY DE POLOGNE À L’OCCASION / DES NOÇES DE LA COMTESSE COSELL / AVEC LE COMTE FRISEN PRES DU CHA,, / TEAU PILLNITZ 1725
1725 or laterPencil, pen, ink and watercolour on paper | Scale: 1:3,100 approx. | RCIN 727019.a
Augusta Constantia von Cosel (1708-28), whose marriage festivities are celebrated in this plan, was the illegitimate daughter of King August II of Poland, Elector of Saxony (1670-1733), after whom she was named. Her mother, Anna Constantia Countess von Cosel was the King’s mistress. Augusta married Heinrich Friedrich von Friesen (1681-1739), a Dutch-born Saxon General and diplomat.
The accompanying text at RCIN 727019.b explains that the fort on the south side of the River Elbe was made especially for the occasion and was razed to the ground afterwards. Fifteen armed ships were ordered from Holland with several hundred sailors who returned to Holland after the festivities, leaving their ships behind them in Saxony. The island was temporary home to 1,500 men who were dressed up in Turkish clothes. In addition, the siege army consisted of 3,500 infantrymen and 1,500 cavalry.
The camp lasted for one month, providing a variety of entertainments which were constantly changing. The mock siege began at three o'clock in the afternoons and in the evenings there were plays or comedies.
Additional text: [right, below title, in title cartouche, a key, A-H, to the new and old castles of Pillnitz, the fortress, camps, trenches, the island where the Turkish camps were, the infantry, and cavalry:] EXPLICATION DES LETTRES.
For further reading, see:
H.T. Flathe, 'Friesen, Heinrich Friedrich Graf von', Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB), Band 8, Leipzig, 1878, S. 87 f.
Condition: two fold lines; one small tear in right edge; surface dirt on recto and verso of left edge [right edge, verso].
Janson (active 1716-28) (draughtsman) [bottom left, inside neatline:] Capt: Janson pp.
Watermark: Fleur-de-lys suspending a ‘4’ with the letters WR below; countermark: IV
Mark, stamped: 167
Condition: two fold lines; one small tear in right edge; surface dirt on recto and verso of left edge [right edge, verso]
Scale: 1:3,100 approx. Scale bar: Echelle [157 mm =] 600 Paas.
37.3 x 63.8 cm (neatline)
40.1 x 66.6 cm (image)
42.1 x 68.8 cm (sheet)
Manuscript title:
PLAN / DU CAMPEMENT PAR L’ORDRE / DU ROY DE POLOGNE À L’OCCASION / DES NOÇES DE LA COMTESSE COSELL / AVEC LE COMTE FRISEN PRES DU CHA,, / TEAU PILLNITZ 1725. [bottom right, in ornate cartouche surmounted by the Polish crown above the monograom ‘FR’ of Polish King Friedrich Augustus II of Poland and I of Saxony, embellished with the artefacts of war: mortar bombs, cannon, flags]
Additional text:
[right, below title, in title cartouche, a key, A-H, to the new and old castles of Pillnitz, the fortress, camps, trenches, the island where the Turkish camps were, the infantry, and cavalry:] EXPLICATION DES LETTRES.
Annotations:
George III heading: Encampment at Pillnitz 1725.
Other annotations: none.
George III catalogue entry:
Encampment Plan dessiné du Campement par ordre du Roy de Pologne a l’occasion des noçes de la Comtesse Cosell avec le Comte Frisen pres du Chateau Pillnitz, 1725; par le Capitaine Janson; avec une Description. [The same entry appears under the heading Pillnitz]
Subject(s)
Pillnitz, Saxony, Germany (51°00ʹ26ʺN 13°52ʹ32ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
H.T. Flathe, 'Friesen, Heinrich Friedrich Graf von', Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB), Band 8, Leipzig, 1878, S. 87 f.
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
