An Exhibition at Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC)

choi

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Barrymore Laurence Scherer, Meant to Be Not Only Used but 'Read;' Silver fit
for royalty and funded by an empress, the Second Sachsen-Teschen service
was long thought lost. Wall Street Journal, May 8, 2010.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704342604575222403523264596.html

Note:
(a) Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_III,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
(1415-1493)

Quote: "Still, in some ways his policies were astonishingly successful. In
the Siege of Neuss (1474-75), he could force Charles the Bold of Burgundy to
give his daughter Mary of Burgundy as wife to Frederick's son Maximilian.
With the inheritance of Burgundy, the House of Habsburg began to rise to
predominance in Europe. This gave rise to the saying 'Let others wage wars,
but you, happy Austria, shall marry,' which became a motto of the dynasty.

(b) House of Habsburg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Habsburg
(Habsburg was anglicized as Hapsburg; The dynasty is named after their seat
of origin, the Habsburg Castle founded by Radbot, Count of Habsburg in the
Swiss Canton of Aargau. The origins of the name of the castle are uncertain.)

(c) Maria Theresa of Austria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa_of_Austria
(1717-1780)

Quote: "She became sovereign when her father, Emperor Charles VI, died in
October 1740. Charles VI paved the way for her accession with the Pragmatic
Sanction of 1713, as the Habsburg lands were bound by Salic law which
prevented female succession. Upon the death of her father, Saxony, Prussia,
Bavaria and France (the states of Europe that had previously recognised the
sanction) repudiated it. Prussia proceeded to invade the affluent Habsburg
province of Silesia, sparking a nine year long conflict known as the War of
the Austrian Succession.

(d) Marie Antoinette, 1775-1793, was wife of French king Louis XVI.
(e) Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Albert_of_Saxony,_Duke_of_Teschen
(1738-1822; "He [is] noted as an art collector and founded the Albertina in
Vienna, the largest and finest collection of old master prints and drawings
in the world.')

(i) He is a German prince, "son of king Augustus III of Poland (who was also
Elector of Saxony)."

Note: Saxony
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxony
("The Free State of Saxony (German: Freistaat Sachsen is a state of Germany,
located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany")

This explains "Sachsen."

(ii) "Young Albert was specifically chosen by Archduchess Maria Christina of
Austria to be her husband. This was a special favour granted by her mother,
the great empress Maria Theresa of Austria because marriages of imperial
children were usually used for diplomatic purposes. Still, the betrothal and
wedding had to wait until the death of her father Emperor Franz I and the
wedding decorations were black because it occurred during the official
mourning period after his death. From his father-in-law's estate, Albert
received the territory of Teschen in Austrian Silesia and was accordingly
given the title of Duke of Teschen."

This explains "Teschen."

The quotations in (i) and (ii) are from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Albert_of_Saxony,_Duke_of_Teschen

(f) Bratislava Castle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bratislava_Castle
("the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia")
(g) service (n): "a set of articles for a particular use <a silver tea
service>"

My comment: If you are interested in history only, stop at paragraph 5; the
rest is about artistic merits of the silver service.

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