SILVER: Smithsonian Antiques Collector Guide ~ PHOTOS

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The Smithsonian
Illustrated Library
Of Antiques
Silver

by
Jessie McNab

Published by the Copper-Hewitt Museum, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Design, copyright 1981. Having  128 indexed pages, illustrated with 25 color plates, and 120 black/white photographs. Bound in 8.75 by 11 inch hard covers, with appropriately illustrated decorative endpapers, gilt lettering on spine and front, still in original dust jacket showing light edge wear, otherwise binding still tight, contents clean and bright, overall in very good condition.

(text taken from dust jacket...)

The color of Silver was considered an integral part of the religious rituals of the early agricultural civilizations, according to Jessie McNab, who notes that the attraction of the color may have led to the discovery of silver itself in the fourth millennium B.C. The metal and its color had deep religious significance for the Sumerians in their worship of the ancient gods of the moon. Later in Mesopotamia, silver became a medium for expressing value. Under the Roman Empire the metal became widely available, losing its reserved social and religious status-so much so, in fact, that every free family could, if it chose, own at least some silver for domestic use. Little of this silver survives, however, and the few objects that remain from these early times can be regarded as antiquities rather than antiques.

The story of silver antiques thus starts with the seventeenth century, which is noted for its magnificent pieces with lavish naturalistic and floral ornamentation in the baroque style. Examples from this period and the centuries that follow are among the most valuable and versatile of collectibles: old, beautiful and rare, they can be employed even now in domestic surroundings.

In a sweeping survey of the eighteenth century, the author first introduces the reader to the Queen Anne style-the quintessential English style-which was reflected in silver by elegant, simple forms. Next the author examines the rococo, with its asymmetrical decoration-sometimes reaching extraordinarily manic heights-followed later in the century by the more delicate, refined neoclassical style, so perfectly exemplified by the creations of Paul Revere, America's most famous silversmith.

Exotic styles from the past were favored in the nineteenth century by the silver manufacturers, who now reigned supreme. Two new departures in the arts, however-the Arts and Crafts movement in England and the Art Nouveau in France -had their effect on silver toward the end of the century. The geometric works of the Bauhaus and the chic, angular pieces of Art Deco in the early twentieth century and the streamlined objects that have recently emerged from Scandinavia round out this brilliant survey.

A chapter on the working of silver-illustrated with specially chosen detail photographs-and one on collecting, a glossary of special terms, a list of further reading and a guide to public collections of silver all combine to extend the usefulness of this concise work.