Hunger and suffering were to be seen everywhere in France during the cruel winter of 1709. To alleviate the plight of the poor, Louis XIV commanded the amount of food served at his table to be cut back; his solid silver plate and flatware to be taken to a jeweler, melted down and turned into coinage; and the crown jewels to be sold. The king added: “I hold in no account to deprive myself of all this in favor of those who have done so much for me.”
He informed the Court that all who deprived themselves of superfluous goods to succor the poor would give him proof of their affection. His suggestion was accepted as a command and it became shameful for anyone to keep silver plate or dinner sets in their palace. Some nobles even sold furniture and mortgaged their lands.
The Augsburg table service of the Prince Bishops of Hildesheim (by far the most complete of the preserved German silverware of the 18th century), delivered in 1763 to Bishop Friedrich Wilhelm von Westphalen Bavarian National Museum, Munich
Jacques Necker, Galerie de l’ancienne cour (Maestricht: J. E. Dufour, 1787), Vol. I, p. 79. (Nobility.org translation.)
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 63
