"Silver: History & Design"

[fiefoe]

Edited by Philippa Glanville

• Renaissance: Splendour was a princely obligation. 'Curiously wrought' was a term of high praise.
• Mannerism: central to the style was the concept of dificulta, implying .. a challenge to the sophistication of the observer in unravelling what were often obscure philosophical, mythological or historical allusions.
• The auricular style... stands apart from Mannerism with its fleshy, dissovling grotesquerie based on marine imagery. With itxz bizzrre dynamics, unity of design and inherent theatricality, the auricular stands on the cusp between Mannerism and Baroque.
  
• Baroque: when architectural forms and principles were applied to silver the results were theatrical, grand, three-dimensional and often boldly sculptural.
  
• In contrast to the elaborate and often ponderous gout rec fashionable in France from the early 1760s.. the Neo-Classical style popularized by Adam was a more elegant and spirited affair.
  

Ashbee