Collected during the last two centuries, the silver of the Counts of Coronini Cronberg di Gorizia, now constitutes one of the most prestigious collections of this Foundation. An extraordinarily rich and surprisingly diverse collection of table silver and cutlery is discussed and illustrated in this volume.The family tradition linked the Coronini to the destiny of the Hapsburg Empire, however the silver reflects only a small part of local taste and though pieces from the Trieste silversmith Bünger, Viennese silversmiths such as the Imperial Klinkosh are present in the collection, also a noteworthy nucleus of Russian, English and French examples are all represented in this collection.
As a consequence of the complex family lineage and ties which resulted from numerous advantageous marriages in the last decades of the 1800s, the international character of the collection was formed through the important bequests of the early years of the 1900s. Included amongst these are nineteenth century silver, produced in Moscow and Saint Petersburg for Count Eduard Cassini, chamberlain of Tsar Nicholas II; the trophies of the London silversmiths Hancock and Garrad, and various pieces of Old Sheffield plate; the French salt-cellers from the Imperial period one of which holds the hallmark of Napoleon's silversmith; a range of Scandinavian pieces and some Swiss and Italian examples from the Imperial period further enrich the collection, giving testimony to the occasional gifts, or careful purchases, that were made by the last Count of Coronini, Guglielmo, who was a great art lover and refined connoisseur. He continued to add to this fascinating and rich collection throughout his life, before leaving it open to the public
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