Metalwork, coins and jewellery
Late 18th-century royal silver dinner service by Auguste, 16th- and 17th-century silver and silver-gilt Kunstkammer objects including rare auricular cup by van Vianen, early 18th-century German pieces, some by Dinglinger and Permoser, Renaissance jewellery, antique coins.
The highlight of the metalwork collection is the extensive silver dinner service made for George III in the 1770s by the French royal goldsmith Robert-Joseph Auguste with additional pieces by Franz Peter Bunsen. It was intended for use by the King in Hanover, where he held the title of Elector. Kunstkammer objects in silver and silver-gilt, dating mainly to the 16th and 17th centuries, are exhibited in Bachelors’ Wing, notably a silver-gilt cup made by Christian van Vianen in 1644, also depicted in a contemporary portrait.
Early 18th-century figures made out of gold, enamel, precious stones and baroque pearls – some by the Dresden court goldsmith Johann Melchior Dinglinger and the sculptor Balthasar Permoser – are of the type made for the treasure rooms in the Green Vaults of Augustus the Strong. There are small collections of Renaissance jewellery, some with 19th-century enhancements, and antique coins, the latter not on view. A few domestic objects remain, including part of a copper batterie de cuisine.