Here we have a antique provincial large Carved Oak Hunting Lodge Overmantle Wall Mirror, made by Wallace and Walker in 1803 (222 Years Old), formerly from the King of Bavaria’s Hunting Lodge Berg Palace, and the mirror has also been part of British stately homes and manor house collections ever since. This large mirror with incredible carved oak depicts a boar hunt with two men in hunting dress, both with spears, accompanied with many different carefully carved dogs in pursuit, carved flowers, carved foliage, and a carved boar to the centre. The closer you look to this piece the more unique carving details and intricacies you see, showcasing the talent of the carver’s Wallace & walker, from the late 18th & early 19th centuries, who made this piece.
 
Provenance Key Timeline:
1803 - Made by Wallace & Walker
1920’s - Originally removed from Prince Ruperts, eldest son of Kings Louis III of Bavaria, Hunting Lodge (Berg Palace) in Starnberg, Bavaria, around 1920
1937 - Bought from Witley Court Palace, one of the surviving items from the great fire which burnt down the house into ruins
September 1969 - Removed from Aston Manor
2025 - Acquired from a private collection from a Hall in the Birmingham Area
 
Provenance (Detailed):
This piece has an extraordinary provenance originally from the King of Bavaria’s Hunting Lodge Berg Palace on the East Side of Lake Starnberg in Germany. This palace was most notable because it was the death place of King Ludwig II, who was infamous for building extraordinary palaces in Germany which inspired the designs for the Disney castle in the 20th century.
 
Berg Palace was built in 1640 in the style of an Italian Renaissance villa by Hans Georg von Hörwarth on the site of an older manor house. In 1676 Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria, acquired the estate from the Hörwarth family. He used it as a hunting lodge, for excursions from his summer castle in Starnberg, and for festivities. It reached its zenith under his successors, elector Max Emanuel, who sailed on the lake with a fleet of magnificent ships, and Emperor Charles VII, when it served as the ambiance for spectacular entertainment and hunting events. Between 1849 and 1851 King Maximilian II instructed the architect Eduard Riedel to redesign the site in Neo-Gothic style. Ludwig II used the site as his summer residence, moving here regularly every year after.
 
In 1868 the Czarina of Russia Maria Alexandrovna visited Berg upon the King's invitation. Ludwig II made it her residence for the duration of her visit and had it magnificently decorated for the occasion.
 
On 12 June 1886, Ludwig II, after he had just been declared mentally impaired and incapable of ruling and his uncle Luitpold having been appointed regent, was transferred to Berg Palace. On June 13th he and his physician Bernhard von Gudden were found dead in the shallow waters at the banks of Lake Starnberg.
 
The mirror was removed from the hunting lodge around 1920, owned then by Crown Prince Rupert (Rupprecht) of Bavaria. Rupprecht (1869-1955) was
the eldest of the thirteen children of Ludwig III, the last King of Bavaria, and of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, a niece of Duke Francis V of Modena. He was a member of the lineage of both Louis XIV of France and William the Conqueror. As a direct descendant of Henrietta of England, daughter of Charles I of England, he was claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland in the Jacobite succession.
 
End of the monarchy and Assets Dispersed / Kept
Five months after Rupprecht’s marriage, in October 1921, his father Ludwig, the former King of Bavaria died, and Rupprecht became Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne. Rupprecht soon began pursuing the restitution of properties and estates the Bavarian state had seized at the end of World War I. After extensive negotiations, an agreement was reached in 1923, and the state established the Wittelsbach Compensation Fund. Properties and assets were placed into this foundation instead of being returned to any specific person. In addition, the family agreed to place numerous assets – including a large art collection – into the fund, with the provision that they be made accessible to the public. It was in the periods between 1921-1923 that we believe this piece was removed from the palace, as some pieces were sold or taken during contention of ownership of the palaces following WW1.
 
Witley Court (Circa 1920 – 1937)
Witley Court is a ruined former substantial great palace of the Victorian to Edwardian era which burnt down in 1937 and is in Worcestershire, England. It was once owned by the Foley Family (1st, 2nd & 3rd Baron), then the Earl of Dudley, and after WW1 a Kidderminster Carpet manufacturer. The mirror went from the Kings of Bavaria’s hunting lodge around 1920 to Witley Court and was bought from one of the Witley Court Sales following the great fire, meaning it as one of the surviving pieces of the fire. Similarly, there was a carved oak settee which sold at Nock Deighton auction in 2006 which was also removed from Prince Ruperts hunting lodge and sold at the Witley court sale.
 
Aston Manor / Hall (1937-1969)
After Witley Court the next known place to have the mirror was Aston Manor. This leads us to Aston Hall, in Aston Manor in Birmingham. Aston Hall is one of the last great Jacobean style houses in the UK, located in Birmingham, England, and was built between 1618 and 1635. In 1864, the house was bought by Birmingham Corporation, the first historic country house to pass into municipal ownership, and is still owned by Birmingham City Council till today. The Bavarian King’s hunting lodge mirror was removed (sold) from Aston Manor in September 1969 which is written in chalk on the reverse of the mirror most likely by the auction.
 
2025 Provenance
Acquired from a private collection from a Hall in the Birmingham Area.