Table cover

The middle of the rectangular tablecloth shows two identical patterns, imitating the headlines of the paper Wiener Zeitung. The headlines of Gothic letters - "Wiener Zeitung / Mit k(aiserlich) - k(öniglicher) allergnädigster Freyheit / Sonnabend der 9 Julius 1785 / Quid verum atque decens euro et rogo / Inländische Nachrichten / Wien" - enclose two stemmed glasses and a crescent roll.

The border is decorated with rococo motifs, that is, alternating bunches of flowers among branches holding harps or twisted with strings, above a trellis enframed by leaves. The corners are decorated with identical scenes: a prismatic post standing on grass, with a male figure on each side, wearing Turkish trousers, a gown with hood and a red cap. The figure on the left offers coffee for the other.

The decoration of this tablecloth has several Turkish reminiscences. The central motif is a crescent: after a legend, to celebrate the end of the siege by Turks in 1683, Vienna bakers made a pastry in the shape of the crescents they had seen on the battle standards of the enemy. The four corners' motif: a Turk serves coffee for another Turk on his tray, next to the coffee pot, there is a small, handleless cup, called finja. The headline of the Wiener Zeitung of July the 9th 1785 appears also on the tablecloth, this issue of the newspaper published among others news about the bustling commerce with the Turkish states. At that time, Vienna coffee-houses had a century-long past already, but the exotic drink still reminded of the Turks.