Auction Silver

A Concise History of Silver Throughout Time, Space and Cultures.

Silver has been jointly reveled in cultures around the world both as a commodity and a decorative metal that extends as far back as ancient times. Silver is said to have been discovered in the deposits of Anatolia (modern day Turkey) during the Bronze Age at around 2500 BCE. The Assyrian Empire controlled the production of silver from these deposits. The skilled Sumerian craftsmen who had been accustomed to the metalworking of bronze applied their trade to this newly discovered bright and beautiful metal. These manufactured silver vessels were enjoyed by the royalty of the Assyrian Empire and also exported to Greece, the islands of the Cyclades and to Crete. The rulers of Crete in the Mycenaean empire hoarded many of these precious imported silver goods, and only the prominent and wealthy ever possessed these rare and beautiful items until the collapse of the Mycenaean world. Important Sumerian figureheads of this era were often entombed with their valuables that included gold and silver vessels as well as decorated gold and silver jewelry, as witnessed from the excavation of the tomb of Pu-Abi and 1800 other graves in the Royal Cemetery of Ur.

After the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, by 800 BCE Greek city-states had emerged from the Dark Ages a tight network with a robust economy. Silver goods began being imported from the eastern Mediterranean. During the 700 BCE, silver was imported as a raw good that was later turned into Greek vessels by the Greek artisan craftsmen, known as silversmiths. Greek and Anatolian styles of metalwork of silver became very similar as the two cultures borrowed from each other techniques and designs. In the 700 BCE silver goods became a prominent relic among the wealthy in Etruria (now Italy). Most proof of the prominence of silver in this period came from paintings during the time and out of burials and tombs, those of whom were fortunate enough to afford extravagant burials. More common types of silver artifacts recovered from the graves of the wealthy were vessels like silver drinking cups and silver bowls, not to mention gold and silver jewelry. The first coins were made in Lydia (modern day Turkey) where silver was minted with a gold alloy in 700 BCE. The discovery of the Laurium (modern day Greece) silver veins gave the Roman Empire a source of income they had always wanted. They developed an advanced system of extraction (silver bonds to lead in nature) and began minting pure silver coins for the republic. During times of war, the silver in the mines was directly used to finance the construction of massive naval fleets.

As the Roman Empire absorbed ancient Roman and Greek civilization at the turn of the 1st century, so did it absorb most of the ancient silver vessels that were readily available to melt down into the then popular shapes and designs.

At the fall of the Roman Empire and succession of the Byzantine Empire (what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire), Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity sparked the spread of decorative Christian inspired silver vessels such as crucifixes and chalices. At the fall of the Byzantine Empire was soon the rise of the Renaissance that spread across the entire continent of Europe. By this time, silversmiths applied a systematic approach to the technique of design and manufacture of silver vessels, which paralleled the science of architecture at the same time. Like the disappearance of ancient Greek silver vessels in the Roman Empire, the Renaissance unfortunately was synonymous with the disappearance of most of the secular (religious) silver vessels from the period before that. Still a commonly produced silver good was the drinking vessel. As beer or wine was widely available and popular in most European cultures throughout the period of the Renaissance, silver drinking vessels such as cups and bowls were also popular for the wealthy to display in public their extravagance through their debauchery.

The ancient Mayan civilization was known to produce beautiful pieces of silver jewelry such as headdresses and necklaces, which were adorned by nobility. The Mayan Empire focused on the development of art, architecture, and mathematics and was an advanced society compared to other cultures during its existence that dates back to 2000 BCE until its collapse in the 9th century. Although it is uncertain as to why the Mayan Empire collapsed, the Mayan peoples survived in segregated city-states up until Spanish colonization.

The colonization of the Americas led to the greatest discoveries of silver deposits in Mexico and what is now Bolivia. The Spanish opened the mines of Zacatecas and Potosí in the mid 15th century. The silver from these mines helped finance the wars of the Spanish Empire.

Throughout the political turmoil among Britain, from the Union of the Crowns and through the English Civil War that declared England a Commonwealth, the British East India Company had established itself as one of the world’s largest economic powerhouses underneath the Dutch East India Company. Up until the company brought back huge profits to England, the decoration of common silver goods was very plain, most notably due to the fact that the post-monarchical state went through a state of depression during their civil war. The company had built factories and trading posts across India, China and the South China Sea to trade tea for silver. The introduction of tea and coffee and other spices to Europe due to the expansion of trade inspired silversmiths to formulate drinking vessels to accommodate both the steeping and consumption of these new enjoyable beverages. Also new to the table were the designs of silver cutlery (silverware) and flatware. Previous to the invention of steel, sterling silver, which was a large percentage of silver and a small percentage of copper, was highly regarded as a currency until it began being used in the 16th century as a durable metal alloy for swords and knives. Sheffield’s Cutlers Company developed a special plate of copper and silver to manufacture for the populace. The Sheffield plate was a durable metal alloy that did not bend like other cutleries made of different metal alloys.

During the 17th century, the trade routes established by the high volume of supply and demand by the Portuguese imported massive amounts of silver out of Japan until the Japanese, fearing hostility towards the Portuguese superpower, decided to close its doors to foreigners.

About the time of the French Revolution, France underwent drastic sociopolitical change. French artists in clashes with their beliefs and the extreme change in ideas and society clung to what was good in history and times past. Thus spawned “Neoclassicism”: silversmiths mimicked the styles of ancient Greco-Roman silver vessels. Unfortunately, the necessity for France to fight in the Seven Years’ War prompted most of the melting of the precious metals of this period to finance the war effort. Neoclassicism spread to Britain shortly after this war, and many British scholars interested in art and science were gravitated to study in Italy for its wealth of priceless historic art, science and architecture.

In the 17th century, Russian silver was decorated in styles greatly influenced by French design because Peter the Great desired to push reforms among the Russian Empire.

The styles of silver goods entering America came mostly from British export and the silver goods in Canada came mostly from France. But during the 19th century the world population as well as emigration was on the rise. Europeans sought new opportunities abroad and settled in places like the United States and Canada. This expanded the demand for European silver goods in these new lands of opportunity.
Silver deposits were discovered in the United States as a byproduct of the California Gold Rush, most notably the Comstock Lode in Nevada.

The Industrial Revolution was the facet of society fueled by the need to fulfill the growing demands of the general public in Britain that spread across Europe to America. Technological advancements and scientific breakthroughs brought the art of silversmiths to the assembly line, although many art critics would argue that the best styles and designs of silver will always be handmade.

Now, contemporary silver artworks are still being handmade, and in most cases are serious works of art that fulfill no other purpose or utility than to please the eye or decorate space. Still, whether they rest in a museum, are served at the dinner table, a centerpiece in some lucky person’s home or a king’s chalice, silver has come a long way, but has served similar purposes throughout time, and that is to please those who come in contact with it while they eat from it, drink from it and gaze upon it. Societies that have chosen to cherish these decorative pieces of art, including rare ancient silver coins, have wisely housed these artifacts collectively in museums around the world. While those less fortunate have melted the masterpieces for the pure metal to finance wars and furnish more self-interested contemporary styles. Nonetheless, silver has played a vibrant role in society through conflict and prosperity, and has catapulted in popularity today as a global commodity and collector’s item.