China Servings for Several Hundreds!

Friday, April 9, 2010 (Part 3):

Our next stop within the Hofburg Palace complex was the ticket counter to purchase tickets to see (i) the imperial china exhibit, (ii) the "Sisi" exhibit, and (iii) the living quarters of Franz Joseph and his queen, Sisi.

The china and silver collection of the palace turned out to be much more interesting than it might have sounded at first. Different sets of dinnerware were commissioned by each royal family, and they commissioned multiple sets - one for each palace where they spent time.

Prior to the 18th century, all of the dinnerware was made of silver. Over the years, however, due to the financial drain of successive wars, the silverware was lost because it had to be melted down and the silver converted to currency to fund the war efforts. Beginning in the late 18th century and early 19th century, all of the royal silverware was replaced by less costly, but equally beautiful, porcelain.

Much of the porcelain was commissioned with particular purposes and designs in mind. My two favorite sets were (i) one set that featured drawings of monarchs and the castles they owned and (ii) another set with three panoramic views featured along the edges.

In a 60 plate set of these plates, with three views per plate, there were no repetitions.

In the china collection, there were also hundreds of candelabras and centerpieces for floral and fruit arrangements, and long mirrored stands to display them all. All I could think of as we walked through the dozen or more rooms that housed all this dinnerware was the huge number of staff who must have been employed for the purpose of cleaning and polishing all of these hundreds of pieces.