The Summer selling exhibition at the London Silver Vaults, Might & Magnificence: Silver in the Georgian Age, will display a wide variety of Georgian silver design, drawn from all 30 Vaults shops, and encompass the major design trends of the period, from embellished rococo to restrained neo-classical.

Guest curator is silver historian Philippa Glanville, former Keeper of Metalwork at the V & A Museum. Key pieces selected by Philippa will demonstrate the finest Georgian design and craftsmanship.  All items are for sale, offering an opportunity to acquire a beautifully crafted piece of design history from this elegant era.

Georgian Britain became the most successful European economy of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The aspiring middle classes wanted to buy impressive objects for their homes like the aristocratic and wealthy, and silver was one of the most popular expressions of taste and style. Innovative manufacturing techniques from the likes of Josiah Wedgwood and Matthew Boulton and ingenious designers ensured a flow of novel objects for these new consumers.

Georgian Design Trends - Until the 1760s silver was mostly made by hand with the alloy hammered into shape and raised or chased to form decoration. These heavy pieces made silver a super-luxury product, as it was priced by weight, but with the invention of Sheffield Plate a base material such as copper could be coated with a super thin film of silver and silver plate could be bought for as little as a fifth of the price of the solid version.

There were two contrasting style trends in the Georgian period:  classical Greek- and Roman- inspired design (baroque, Palladian, neo-classical) and anti-classical, unrestrained styles such as rococo, chinoiserie and gothic.  The latter more ornate styles whilst taken up by leading silversmiths, were costly to produce by hand and so fewer examples exist. Robert Adam’s version of neo-classicism, fanned by news of discoveries at Herculanaeum, set off a revolution in style and translated well in to silver design. The floral and leaf-patterned swag, the face or ‘grotesque’, small repeat dots or beading, fluted columns and geometric shapes were easily replicated on silver in low-relief applied decoration or by ‘bright cut’ engraving. 

Shopping Lists!  - Setting up home upon marriage was a major time for shopping in a Georgian’s life. Women acquired silverwares relating to tea, as the taking of tea dominated feminine society. So, teapot, tea kettle, tea tray, sugar basin, tongs and teaspoons, strainers and tea caddies were essential. The rise in popularity of wine and fortified wines generated a variety of gentlemanlike accoutrements such as decanters, wine jugs, wine funnels and labels, coasters for bottles, punch bowls and wine coolers. Table decorations for the dining room and a profusion of candelabra in the drawing room displayed social status, wealth and taste.

Personal accessories included snuff and spice boxes, walking canes with silver tops, vinaigrettes (for smelling salts) and calling card cases. Travellers required their own set of portable kit, from compact cutlery sets to tooth brushes. At the (his and hers) dressing table, essentials for the toilette were silver pots for pins, potions, powder (for wigs and face), perfume and beauty spots.

Much of the silver for sale in the 30 shops at the London Silver Vaults is of the domestic variety. Customers can acquire beautiful pieces to decorate their homes, find a lasting gift for a special occasion or add to their collections.  Between them the shops offer the largest selection of silver for sale in the world. Most of it is English, and a good proportion from the Georgian period.

Browse the London Silver Vaults here.