The Silver VaultTableware for Royal Dining and Opulent Snuffboxes in Frederick the Great's New Wing

An exceptional presentation at Charlottenburg Palace displays rare pieces from the Hohenzollern silver collection, and Frederick the Great’s renowned snuffboxes. Together with the royal apartments and their art treasures, nearly 600 precious objects offer insights into additional facets of Prussian court culture, while allowing visitors to enter the glittering world of the royal household.

The Silver Vault

The selection of historical tableware made of gold, silver, and porcelain, unrivaled in its extent and cultural-historical importance, was formerly kept in the Silver Vault.

The new exhibit presents the tableware both as finely set table arrangements or shown on decorative buffets. Around one hundred royal dinner services have been preserved, some in their entirety, delighting visitors with their richness of color and form. The composition and designs of the services reflect the prevailing taste, the particular culinary preferences, and the ceremonial customs of the courtly table between the periods of the Baroque and Historicism.

Frederick the Great’s Snuffboxes

Frederick the Great’s snuffboxes, made of semi-precious stones, mounted in gold, and set with diamonds, represent valuable items of an entirely different kind. The king, who otherwise shunned the court’s traditional luxury, owned an exquisite collection of valuable snuffboxes, which he always liked to have close at hand. Eight of these very beautifully designed precious objects are on display in the permanent exhibition, The Silver Vault.