Elaborate silver travelling sets like this one came into fashion in France in the early eighteenth century. Known as 'necessaries', they were designed to contain all the necessities of life in a small, convenient form, easily packed for travel. This set includes tea and coffee utensils, toilet accessories, needlework tools, a candlestick and a mirror. The contents pack neatly into a mahogany box with two layers of removable trays, and there is also a wooden drawer which pulls out from the side.

The travelling service was made by Martin Guillaume Biennais, a French goldsmith who specialised in luxurious silverware and regularly supplied Napoleon I (1769–1821). Napoleon gave the piece as a wedding gift to his adopted daughter, Stéphanie Beauharnais (1789–1960), in April 1806.

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