Until well into the eighteenth century, tableware made of gold and silver predominated at imperial banquets. It was not until the turn of the nineteenth century that fundamental changes took place. The Napoleonic Wars convulsed Europe and the Habsburg Empire, putting immense pressure on the financial reserves of the monarchy. Most of the court silver was melted down for coin and replaced with functional porcelain services. The Imperial Porcelain Manufactory in Vienna, the second-oldest porcelain manufactory in Europe, which had already passed into state ownership under Maria Theresa, supplied new dining services for the imperial court. 

Uniting both the old and new requirements of imperial tableware, the Gold Service was made at the turning-point of this development. The gold coating meant that it complied with the norms befitting imperial rank, while simultaneously making an impression with its striking modernity. The clear lines of Empire forms and the radical reduction in decor represent a break with the tastes that had predominated only a short while before. 

During the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15, when crowned heads and diplomats deliberated on Europe’s future, countless social gatherings took place, and the new gold-coated porcelain service shone resplendent on the banqueting tables of Emperor Franz II./I. of Austria.

From around 1810, white-glazed dining services ‘in court form’ were commissioned from the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory to go with the Gold Service which were based on the same models. The two earlier variant decors display delicate gold accents in the form of lines and palmettes or borders of small vine leaves. The new services in ‘court form’ were practical in many respects. As well as their functional design, the fact that replacements for breakages and additions could be easily ordered from the nearby factory, plus the favourable prices agreed for the court, all played a role. Items in ‘court form’ were reordered for the Court Silver and Tableware Chamber over many decades. A later variant decor from the reign of Emperor Ferdinand I featured large gold vine leaves.