Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting online discussion from the Wallace Collection highlighting examples of Dutch silver in their collection and that of the Rijksmuseum. Dirk Jan Biemond of Rijksmuseum and Ada de Wit of the Wallace Collection gave us an overview of the Dutch items in their collections with excellent illustrations. They then compared two examples of items which they both held. They started by looking at collars owned by civic guards and discussed why they often had a parrot on them. Evidently there were annual shooting contexts when the target was a model parrot and the winner won the right to wear the collar for a year. They also used these to talk about the hallmark structure in the Netherlands. They then moved on to look at baby linen baskets. These were often made of wicker but rich families also had them in silver and each museum had an example and they discussed the decoration and symbolism on them. I must admit to walking rather quickly through silver galleries but I’ll be more ...

Lovely exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland looking at modern designer silverware. The work comes from the Goldsmith’s Company collection. The company commissions and purchases new work for its collection and has added 150 items since 2000. There were a number of works by Hiroshi Suzuki who does beautiful designs with fluted sides. Also a number of pairs of candelabra from very classic designs by Frances Loyen or more contemporary ones by Alex Brogden. There were a number of exquisite beakers including some with plique a jour enamel and one by Jane Short covering in enamel fish scales. My favourite piece was wonderful centrepiece called “Spiritus” by Teresa Nguguyen which consisted of fine leaves in a spiral shape.

Exhibition at The Wallace Collection of silver collected by two generations of the Schroder family between 1870 and 1930. Mainly German renaissance in origin the first part of the exhibition focused on English and Continental domestic silver including beautiful German stacking beakers which fitted perfectly one inside the other and a drinking cut in the form of a bear which looked rather like a demented hamster. The second room focused on silver for display and talked about the advent of kunstkammer or schatzkanner, art or treasure chambers, in houses to display precious objects. These were said to be the forerunner of museums. The finest piece was a ewer in the shape of a ship complete with tiny enamel figures of solders, rowers and event a small party men eating dinner. Those men wore the Maltese cross as it was made for the order of St John in Germany. The exhibition was accompanies by a small display in the conservation galleries showing a mock up of a silver workshop explaining ho...