The set belonging to Maria Theresa is made of solid gold. It consists of personal eating implements that were brought to use at table before cutlery became widespread as part of a table setting. Also including a spice box and an egg cup, the portable set ensured that the empress was able to consume her meals wherever she happened to be with implements made of precious metal as befitted her rank. 

A specially appointed silver servant was responsible for the care and safeguarding of the set. On the one hand this reduced the risk of attempts on the empress’s life by poisoning and on the other played a role in the ceremonial reverence accorded to the ruler. At each meal the set was borne from the Court Silver and Tableware Chamber to the imperial table in accordance with strict etiquette. Maria Theresa issued a decree stipulating that after dark it was to be accompanied by an additional servant carrying a flambeau. 

The soup spoon, fork and knife correspond to modern-day forms of cutlery. The two-tined carving fork was used to spear larger pieces of roast meat. The multifunctional egg spoon has a long handle that is hollowed out along half its length so that it could be used for scraping out the marrow from soup bones, considered an especial delicacy at the time. The design of the egg cup is also ingenious: depending which way up the cup is stood, the egg could be consumed upright or on its side. 

After the death of Maria Theresa, the set with its case was put into storage in the Court Silver and Table Room, which was in effect the first museum-type depot of the collection. In the inventories of the Court Silver and Tableware Chamber drawn up in 1808, the empress’s Mundzeug set is listed as No. 1. The corresponding label is still preserved on the case.