Wienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part VI.

Today I'd like to show you some more plates and kitchen accessories from the Silver Collection that once belonged to the Habsburgs. Feel free to read the other episodes here :
Vienna - Part 1 - Public Transport
Vienna - Part 2 - Hospitality
Vienna - Part 3 - St. Michael's Church
Vienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part I.
Vienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part II.
Vienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part III.
Vienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part IV.
Vienna - Part 5 - Hofburg Palace - Silver Collection - Part V.
Vienna - Part 6 - St. Stephen's Cathedral
Vienna - Part 7 - Food

This history of the Vienna Silver Chamber goes back to the fifteenth century. The office of Silver Chamberlain is first documented at the Vienna court of Emperors Frederick III and Maximilian I. The holder of this office was responsible for the table silver, table linen and the setting of the imperial table.
Over the course of time the Silver Chamber gained in importance. Its various responsibilities were divided between the Court Kitchen, the Court Confectionery, the Court Linen Room, the Court Cellars, the Court Silver and Table Room, the Court Depot of Victuals, the Court Firewood and Coal Depot and the Court Light Room, that is, the offices that regulated the imperial household. source

Instead of plates, let's start with some really interesting and decorative sets.

This is a tea set, a very interesting one, I must admit. Unfortunately to my disappointment, it was close to closing time when we got to this part of the museum and were told we have to leave in ten minutes. All I could do was take quickly as many photos as I could. The quality and the angle is what it is, I had to sacrifice quality in order to have these memories I can watch at home.

This seems to be another tea set, a very elegant and beautiful one made of porcelain and silver as I see.

A set of plates, bawls and a nice box with oriental motives. Could be Chinese or Japanese, I can't decide but it looks wonderful. Especially the box that is made or porcelain and decorated with gold plated metal probably.

25 Alexander of Lorraine / Imari porcelain
The Imperial Silver Collection owes its interesting and comprehen-sive collection of Far Eastern porcelain dating from around 1700 to Duke Alexander of Lorraine.Karl Alexander was the younger brother of Emperor Franz Stephan, the husband of Maria Theresa. He married the latter’s only sister, Maria Anna, in 1744. After the wedding the young couple moved to Brussels, where Karl Alexander became governor of the Nether-lands. He was a keen collector, a habit which led to him accumula-ting large debts. After his death his nephew Emperor Joseph II was appointed executor of his estate, and he had a large part of the collection auctioned off in Brussels. The valuable Imari porcelain, however, was added to the court holdings in Vienna.Some of the surviving pieces represent an interesting symbiosis bet-ween Far Eastern and European culture. These porcelain plates and vessels from Japan and China were fitted with mounts by European silversmiths to adapt them for court use. Their blue, red and gold painted decoration is in the typical colours of Japanese porcelain of that epoch, which is known as Imari ware after the trading port it was exported from. The centrepiece in the form of a rocky landscape was probably made by a Viennese silversmith. Incense could be placed inside the base of the silver tree, with the aromatic smoke escaping through the holes in the trunk. The fruits made of Chinese enamel also contained fragrant essences. source

The objects are kept in glass cabinets, which is good because everything is visible but not so good when it comes to photography. It's hard to take a photo as the glass makes your job harder. However, this part of the museum looks great.

24 Sweetmeat stands of the New French Centrepiece (Arena)
In the atrium is a display of “tambours” or bronze-gilt stands which held sweetmeats and decorated the imperial dining table. They belong to the New French Centrepiece acquired by the young Emperor Franz Joseph. source

Useful information:
Hofburg Palace
Michaelerkuppel, 1010 Wien, Austria
https://www.hofburg-wien.at/en/