Another Spindler

In my last post I wrote about the Spindler Marquetry Family. There is another Spindler family that many are not aware of. During the eighteenth-century in Germany only 2 families dominated the marquetry trade. One was David and Abraham Roentgen in Neuwied and the other was Johann Spindler with his 3 sons in Bayreuth. The Spindler’s were more well known in their country than Roentgen. They not only produced furniture in the Rococo style, but also wall paneling and flooring. 

 

Between 1764 and 1773, Heinrich Wilhelm Spindler and his older brother, Johann Friedrich produced whole rooms, furniture and flooring of marquetry for King Frederick the Great of Prussia at Potsdam. Their greatest work, however, was the Spindler Room at Fantaisie Palace near Bayreuth (shown above). Today this is only a replica with the original in the Bavarian National Museum Bavarian National Museum in Munich. The wall paneling covers 840 square feet and consists of 18,000 pieces. Native domestic woods were used and many of them were dyed (yellow, green and blue). As was the case in those days lac varnish was used as a finish. All this was created by Wilhelm and Friedrich with the help of only 2 assistants. Wilhelm was the younger of the brothers and was reported working in his father’s workshop when only 12 years old. He may have worked in Paris at a young age for the Mineon Family who were considered a dynasty of craftsman and dealers. Truly amazing.