British and Irish Silver in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums

"The Fogg Art Museum's collection ofsilver made in the British Isles over three centuries is one of the most comprehensive of its kind in North America. It includes objects that range from Elizabethan cups to works by such well-known figures asJacob Bodendeich, Paul de Lamerie, and Hester Bateman. Also featured are iconic objects of Harvard University's own historic silver such as the Great Salt, the university's oldest relic, which has been in America since the 1630s. Some 280 pieces-most previously unpublished-are catalogued and discussed with illustrations of all their marks, a number of which are newly identified." "The collection presents a wide-ranging survey of the evolution of styles and decoration from 1550 to 1850. The contributions made by foreign craftsmen to silver produced in London in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are discussed, as is the distinctive silverware made in Dublin and Edinburgh, and in English provincial centers such as Exeter and Newcastle. This catalogue also paints a vivid portrait of collecting decorative arts in America during the last hundred years."--BOOK JACKET.