Austrian silver dinner service in mahogany casket by Klinkosch

This exquisitely-made dinner service set contains a total of 200 pieces of silver-gilt to provide twelve people with a full set of cutlery, along with various other serving utensils. All the silver is hallmarked. The silver (excluding the knives) weighs a total of 10,514 grammes. These silver pieces have been gilded, endowing the set with a gold finish.

The silver was created by Josef Carl Klinkosch, a highly-skilled Viennese silversmith. After learning the silversmithing trade from Carl Klinkosch, his father, Josef Carl Klinkosch entered into a partnership with Stephan Mayerhofer in 1864. The pair were highly successful, employing designers from Austria and other countries in their workshop and exhibiting at World's Fairs. In their work, Mayerhofer and Klinkosch adopted a traditional approach to design that prioritised fine craftmanship. This dinner service set, created at the end of Klinkosch's career when he was working independently, shows real refinement in style and skill.

The dinner service set is contained within a beautiful mahogany casket which is mounted on a stand. An inscription reveals that the casket was created at a later date than the silver, being made at 'Hopeland House R.P.H. from D.S.C February 20. 1909'. The casket height is 69.5cm, its width 44.5cm, and depth 39.5cm, while the stand measures 64cm in height, 48.5cm in width and is 41.5cm deep. This mahogany piece makes a fitting and elegant case for the silver dinner service set.