| Summary: | This article discusses work in natural stone, highlighting their cultural significance in interior architecture during the reign of Frederick II (1740–86). Indeed, together the ballroom, gallery and the vestibule, constitute the most remarkable groups in Potsdam, with their luxurious dressings of marble and rich inlays in the flooring. Although this style cannot be compared to any particular tradition, it represents a mature artistic and technical work. Did the royal patron wish to give free rein to his aesthetic tastes or to use luxurious materials to create a mise-en-scène of royal power and of his person? To answer this it is necessary to highlight Frederick II’s active role in the discovery and exploitation of marble and gems in Silesia from 1747, and the creation of the Potsdam stone manufacture. A significant example is the Gallery of Paintings in Sanssouci Park, whose restoration in 1993–96 resulted in important discoveries about the composition of materials and their shaping.
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