the amber room was the most beautiful and elaborate artistic creation in amber that the world had ever known. this entire room built of specially selected pieces of amber had been commissioned by the german king frederick i in 1701, had taken almost ten years for countless craftsmen to make, and was eventually installed in the main palace in berlin. in 1716, frederick william i, son and successor of frederick i, signed the prussian-russian alliance with czar peter i. to commemorate this occasion, frederick presented
