The Green Vault (German: Grünes Gewölbe; pronounced [ˈɡʁyːnəs ɡəˈʋœlbə]) is a museum located in Dresden, Germany, which contains the largest treasure collection in Europe.

The official name of these rooms, which were protected against fire and robbery by thick walls and iron shutters and doors, was "Privy Repository" (Geheime Verwahrung).

[2][3] Throughout the 17th century, the Privy Repository was used by the rulers of the Electorate of Saxony as a private treasure chamber for important documents and jewelry.

The Pretiosensaal (Hall of Treasures) and the Eckkabinett (Corner Cabinet) were listed as completed in the inventory of 1725; they reached their present-day form in this construction phase.

[4] As in the first construction phase, the architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann planned and built a museum-like, artistic structure of German Baroque grandeur.

Augustus the Strong could now exhibit his entire collection of valuables, including bronze statues and works of art in silver, gold, amber and ivory.

[3] By the end of his almost four-decade-long reign in 1733, Augustus the Strong had made his crown treasures and his inherited riches accessible to the public – an unprecedented innovation in the Baroque period.

In 2006, the reconstructed Historic Green Vault was reopened in the magnificent suite of rooms on the first floor as it had existed in 1733 at the time of its founder's death.

[7] In December 2022, investigators found 31 objects stolen in the 2019 burglary, reportedly after talks with the lawyers of six men on trial for the theft.

[10] [11] Entrance to the Historic Green Vault requires advance purchase of tickets for a specific entry time slot.

The Historic Green Vault has approximately 3,000 pieces of jewelry on display, including works in gold, amber, and ivory.

With these treasure chambers, Augustus the Strong realised his vision of a Baroque Gesamtkunstwerk (synthesis of the arts) as an expression of wealth and absolutist power.

The emerald cluster, a "miracle of nature" which originally came from a Colombian mine, was given to Elector Augustus by Emperor Rudolf II as a gift in 1581.

The New Green Vault consists of 12 rooms: The "Cherry Stone with 185 Carved Faces" was created before 1589 by an unknown artist, probably using a magnifying glass.

One of the mainsails, also made of extremely thin ivory, displays the coat of arms of elector Johann Georg I and his wife Magdalene Sibylle.

[20] The "Golden Coffee Service" presents the cups and saucers and sugar bowls on an elaborate pyramidal etagère surmounted by the coffeepot, all in enameled gold, a cabinet piece unique in Europe.

Here, Dinglinger masterfully combines the most diverse artistic forms to produce an avantgarde work of art which can be regarded as one of the first manifestations of the fashion for chinoiserie.

[21] "The Royal Household at Delhi on the Occasion of the Birthday of the Grand Mogul Aureng-Zeb" represents contemporary European fantasies of "Oriental despotism" in India.

[22][24] The base of the piece presents the forest floor, upon which lies the head of the stag Actaeon, with the dogs falling ravenously upon it.