The interior decoration was assigned to Charles Le Brun. Le Brun supervised the work of a large group of sculptors and painters, called the "Petite Academie", who crafted and painted the ornate walls and ceilings. In the 1670s and 1680s, 10 million livres worth of solid silver furniture was commissioned to designs by Le Brun, including tubs for Louis XIV's orange trees, an 8 foot high sculpted throne, and a silver balustrade in the Salon of Mercury. These items were melted down in 1689 to contribute to the cost of fighting the Nine Years' War.