Attested in the sources since the fifteenth century, the Court Silver and Tableware Chamber at the Vienna Hofburg was responsible for the laying of the imperial tables with magnificent tableware of gold and above all silver. Its main duties included the supply and care of the precious metal tableware as well as making sure that it was securely kept; the plate belonging to princely silver vaults served not only for use at table but also as a financial reserve. As most of the imperial silver plate was melted down for coin in times of crisis, only a few items from pre-Napoleonic times have been preserved. 

The earliest ensemble to be recorded in the inventory of the Court Silver and Tableware Chamber is the Rock Crystal Service dating from around 1710. The vessels were carved from large deposits of rock crystal and mounted in gold. The sides of the goblets and flacons and their delicate mounts display banded reliefs with symmetrically disposed foliate and shell motifs typical of the style of the times. The gold présentoir that once belonged to this set was melted down for coin under Emperor Joseph II, leaving an impressed gap in the case that is still visible today. 

A highlight in the Baroque holdings of imperial tableware is the pietra dura présentoir from Florence. Emperor Franz I, who was also Grand Duke of Tuscany, commissioned this piece from the lapidary workshops founded by the Medici – the grand-ducal Opificio delle Pietre Dure. The emperor had a passion for Florentine pietra dura work and assembled a whole collection in Vienna. He favoured pictorial panels with animated scenes set in landscapes but also collected furniture featuring colourful stone intarsia work. These masterpieces of inlaid semi-precious stones display a similarly playful naturalism.

The lavabo or ewer and basin sets on display were used at the imperial table. Almost archaic in appearance, their function derives from medieval table etiquette, when it was still customary to eat with one’s hands. Before and after dining, and at banquets after every course, water for washing the hands was proffered to the emperor, followed by a napkin to dry them on afterwards. This service was performed by court dignitaries from the high nobility and regarded as a particular honour. 

Dating from various decades of the eighteenth century, the silver-gilt lavabo garnitures preserved in the Silver Collection were made by Augsburg silversmiths. Some were gifts from the city of Frankfurt am Main that were presented during the celebrations marking the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor, following which they were taken back to Vienna.