If no-one wanted to own objects wrought in silver (or gold), the art of silversmithing would die. Craftsman and patron are mutually dependent on each other.
The reasons why people acquired silver, who they were and where they lived are central to the history of the subject, and are interwoven with social and political history worldwide. Although our interest in silver begins with the objects, their story would be far less absorbing without the machinations, scandals, and everyday activities of their owners. Did they acquire these objects by purchase, gift or inheritance; or were they a lottery prize or perquisite of office - was it new, or secondhand?
Fortunately it has long been the custom to engrave silver with armorials and inscriptions, and because of the inherent value of the material, it is usually recorded in household inventories and accounts of the wealthier households and institutions.
To be able to trace the history of an object through armorials, find a portrait of the owner, visit his or her house, read their letters and diaries, and trace their possessions in their archives - to be able to visualise where and how their epergne, teapot or snuffbox, was used - is a fascinating pursuit. And rarely, oh so rarely, there exists a painting showing an owner with a piece of plate that survives today.
Selection of relevant articles in back issues of the Society’s Journal:
Philippa and Gordon Glanville, ’French fancy’ silver from Paris and English patrons, no20 (2006)
Christopher Hartop, Patrons and consumers: buying silver in eighteenth-century London, no20 (2006)
Beth Carver Wees, The Verplanck family silver: fashion and politics in colonial New York, no20 (2006)
Kenneth Quickenden, Elizabeth Montagu’s service of plate, part 1 no16 (2004), part 2 no19 (2005)
T. A. Kent, The Earl of Romney’s silver: an important auction of 1704/05, no16 (2004)
Gale Glynn, Royal heraldry on silver 1714-1837, no14 (2002)
Timothy Schroder, The Duke of Sussex and his collection, no14 (2002)
Vanessa Brett, Twentieth-century silver from Clarence House, no14 (2002)
Henry Steuart Fothringham, The Darnley Jewel, no13 (2001)
Henry Steuart Fothringham, The Strathmore silver inventory of 1695, no13 (2001)
Guy Turner, Lord Pembroke’s inventory of 1561, no11 (1999)
Lucy Morton, The Gough tea caddies, no11 (1999)
Arthur Grimwade, Cardinal Wolsey’s plate, no9 (1997)
James Lomax, Family silver returns to Temple Newsam, no9 (1997)
Peter Cameron, Henry Jernegan, Charles Frederick Kandler and the client who changed his mind, no8 (1996)
Gale Glynn, Some tontines commemorated on English plate, no8 (1996)
Oliver Fairclough, Mrs Strangway’s silver, no8 (1996)
A. J. H. Sale, Records of plate of the Beaufort family in the Badminton House archives and elsewhere, no7 (1995)
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