The art of gold + silversmithing belongs to one of the oldest crafts.
By about 4000 years B.C. the essential working techniques like casting, embossing and enchasing had already been developed among the High cultures of the Middle East. They were later embellished with damascening, granulation and filigree-work as well as the use of precious stones and various enamel techniques.
Precious metals were held in high esteem for their beauty, rarity and durability, gold symbolized the sun, silver - the moon.
The Roman Empire brought with it a splendid diversity of silver tableware and from the Early Middle Age for many centuries onwards the art of gold + silversmithing was at its height. Craftsmen in cloisters and guilds created a tremendous amount of beautiful objects of artistic perfection in both the Sacred and Profane Arts.
The beginning of the Industrial Revolution had a deep impact in the craft of goldsmithing as well. The invention of mechanical devices and machines made the production easier and faster, but many of the old techniques were no longer used and were almost lost.
Fortunately there are still gold and silversmiths to be found who study and apply the many traditional ways of shaping silver and gold that their ancestors used…
ornamental receptacle by Peggy Berghaeuser-Rottler
silver, amethyst quartz, 60x60x35 mm
ornamental receptacle by Peggy Berghaeuser-Rottler
silver, 45x45 mm
ornamental receptacle by Peggy Berghaeuser-Rottler
silver, 60x40 mm
