The coffee pot and milk jug made by silversmith Johann-Christoph Walch around 1775 were among the first pieces of secular silverware to join the collections of the National Museum of History and Art. The coffee pot, the larger of the two items, was bought in 1995 thanks to the generous help of the Friends of the Luxembourg Museums. As a result, this matching set can now be shown together in a public collection.

Exotic drinks such as tea and coffee became popular in Europe as early as the 17th century, but this popularity did not spread to Luxembourg until the following century, when drinking tea and tea became fashionable in high society.

The two jugs, 26.9 and 20.7 cm tall respectively, are nearly identical in their décor. This similarity testifies to the talent of silversmith Johann-Christoph Walch from the Bavarian town of Tölz, who settled in Luxembourg in 1759 and died there in 1791. While the swirling pattern of the two jugs and the elegance of their decorative motifs are reminiscent of southern German Rococo, the artisan also respected the shapes of Belgian and French coffee or tea pots. The floral decorations are particularly lovely. The lid is topped by a knob in the shape of a bunch of grapes with foliage and tendrils.

Stamps on the underside of the items provide some information: the initials CIB probably refer to an owner whose name has been lost, the town hallmark LB shows that the coffee pot and the jug were made in Luxembourg City, the figure 14 stands for 14 lot – the fineness and quality of the silver – and the crowned master’s mark bears the initials ICW, Johann-Christoph Walch.

- Régis Moes