Material type: BookPublisher: London :Victoria & Albert Museum,1996Description: 144 p. : ill.(some col.) ; 28 cm. + hbk.ISBN: 1851771727.Subject(s): Silver | SilverworkDDC classification: 739.2
Published to coincide with the new Silver Gallery at the V&A Museum, this book provides a social history of silver, from the middle ages to the present day. It is illustrated with material from paintings, engravings, designs and contemporary records to examples of ceremonial and domestic silver. Double-page features show silver in many different contexts- from laying the table, drinking customs and rituals, plate and piety, to techniques of making and embellishing silver, how to recognize fakes and forgeries, as well as practicalities, such as care and cleaning. The book should be of interest to collectors and connoisseurs, and all those interest in this historic metal.
Includes index.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Currently curator of metalwork, silver, and jewelry at London's Victoria and Albert Museum and author of Silver in England (Routledge, 1988) and Women Silversmiths (LJ 11/15/90), Glanville is eminently qualified to present an overview of the social history of silver. This collection of well-crafted essays by Glanville and his museum colleagues, offers an enlightening discussion of silver as mark of wealth and position, symbol of purity, and as sought-after object of collectors. The essays and the beautiful illustrations also outline the evolution of silver design since medieval times and describe the crafting of silver. In addition to further readings, Glanville includes a helpful list of appropriate museums and galleries. Despite a few minor overlaps in the essays and the lack of a glossary, this title belongs in most public and academic libraries.Rex Klett, Mitchell Community Coll., Statesville, N.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
A whirlwind tour of everything silver since humanity started tinkering with metal leaves readers breathless yet sated for the moment, because an incredible volume of information is packed into a slim tome. Victoria and Albert Museum curator Glanville and colleagues conduct overviews of 10 different design periods, an investigation of the craft, and, curiously, attitudes toward silver. But the most interesting minutiae are crammed into maxisidebars, two pages in length, devoting a few paragraphs to the subject at hand and the rest of the space to illustrations and photographs. In these sidebars, the learning never stops, starting with their titles: "Spoons as Universal Luxury" and "The Arrival of the Dinner Service," among others. The only issue, but one to be expected, is that the design, innovations, and smitheries after World War II are given short shrift; we lose sight of contributions from Taxco (Spratling et al.) and Denmark (e.g., Georg Jensen). Nonetheless, a remarkable feat. --Barbara Jacobs
| Victoria and Albert Museum.
BookPublisher: London : Victoria & Albert Museum, 1996Description: 144 p. : ill.(some col.) ; 28 cm. + hbk.ISBN: 1851771727.Subject(s): Silver