silverwork
Precious metal crafting
Silverwork is the craft of making objects from silver, or the objects themselves produced by this craft.
The term encompasses both decorative and functional items—jewelry, tableware, religious artifacts, and ornamental pieces—shaped through techniques like hammering, engraving, and casting.
The museum's collection of colonial silverwork includes candlesticks and serving pieces.
A silverworker or silversmith is someone skilled in this craft.
Striking repeatedly with force
- annealingHeat-softening of metals
- solderingLow-temp metal fusion
- chasingFollowing to catch
- polishingSmoothing by friction
engraving · filigree · burnishing · casting · smithing · shaping · finishing · embossing
Pure silver alloy
- braceletOrnamental wrist band
- necklaceNeck-worn ornament
- earringsJewelry worn on lobes
- pendantSuspended jewelry ornament
ring · brooch · cufflinks · locket · chain · bangle · anklet · medallion
Valuable old items
- heirloomsObjects passed through family lines
- hallmarksDistinctive identifying characteristics
- provenanceRecord of ownership
- patinaSurface film from aging
restoration · conservation · guilds · colonial · victorian · artifacts · tarnish · assay
hammering
Striking repeatedly with force
polishing · engraving · filigree · burnishing · casting · smithing · shaping · finishing · embossing · etching
sterling
Pure silver alloy
pendant · ring · brooch · cufflinks · locket · chain · bangle · anklet · medallion · clasp
antiques
Valuable old items
- heirloomsObjects passed through family lines
- hallmarksDistinctive identifying characteristics
- provenanceRecord of ownership
patina · restoration · conservation · guilds · colonial · victorian · artifacts · tarnish · assay · Sheffield
flatware
Eating utensils collectively
- cutleryEating implements collectively
- candlestickWax cylinder support
- trayShallow portable platform
goblet · teapot · pitcher · salver · chalice · bowl · platter · tureen · creamer · salt-cellar
- colonial artreligious art, altarpieces, portraits, portraiture, biblical scenes
- Early American Artportraits, portraiture, samplers, weathervanes, folk art
- artifactspottery shards, knives, masks, pottery, antiquity
- arts and craftspottery, collage, woodcarving, origami, weaving
- DenmarkDanish, Copenhagen, Danes, Danish flag, Greenland
- Latin Americanatango, samba, cumbia, mariachi, bossa nova
silverworkgoldwork
Embroidery using metallic threads
goldsmithing · copperwork · ironwork · bronzework · brasswork
work, silver, workshop, silvery, silverware, workmanship, silvered, silvering, silversmith