Japanese Palais (1727-33; Matthaeus Daniel Poeppelmann)

The Japanese Palace is recognizable by the curved, sweeping rooflines of its corner turrets, which reflect the chinoiserie style popular in the early eighteenth century. Originally a private residence for the Dutch ambassador, the building was purchased in seventeen seventeen by Augustus the Strong, the Elector of Saxony. He intended to transform the structure into a porcelain palace, a dedicated space to house his immense collection of over twenty thousand pieces of Asian ceramics alongside new works from the royal factory in Meissen.