Silver

Philippa Merriman

2009

128 pages

British Museum Press, London

ISBN 978-07141-1815-4

Context The 128 pages and compact, square format is very concise but comprehensive introduction to the history of silver. It has a lot of decent photos, all in… full colour! Most books on silver are mainly about silverware whereas this one has jewellery as its focus. At the time of publication Philippa Merriman was a professional silversmith and this is reflected in the excellent chapter dedicated to tools and techniques. Here the author’s qualities as both historian and silversmith converge. She also neatly addresses the history of assaying and some marks in England but unfortunately other countries are absent. What would be nice is a large world map with the places and dates silver was mined and a matching timeline.

Content

  1. Value and Wealth
  2. Silver and Status
  3. Adornment
  4. Silversmiths
  5. Symbolic Value
  6. Assaying and Hallmarks, Fakes and Forgeries
  7. Tools and Techniques
  8. Further Reding
  9. Illustration References
  10. Index

The excellent bibliography of almost 70 books is divided by chapters and a general section. Buy it together with the Gold book by Susan La Niece and you have a perfect, complementary pair (Susan La Niece is a metallurgist).

Comment Quality in a Square. Silver Edition.

Yours if you’re looking for an excellent overall introduction to the history of silver. It also has serious content in light-hearted packaging: “the difference between a bead and a blob of silver is the hole in the middle”…

Not Yours if you’re into gold.