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The silversmith – conceiving and making works of silver
WILFRIED MOLL
Silversmith, Hamburg
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Lemonade Jug
Russel Wright, New York, ca. 1930
Spun aluminium, lacquered wood
Bröhan-Museum, Berlin
Cat. Modern Art of Metalwork nr. 495 |
The profession of the silversmith has many facets which have evolved over a long period of time; it involves the combination of art and craft to make a living, and both these elements have to be integrated into everyday life.
Some aspects, though, have changed in recent times: the changes are primarily concerned with the social status of the craftsman. The modern silversmith has been liberated from the rigorous organisation of the guilds and the pressures of larges factories with industrial working conditions. As a rule he/she is today an independent, self-employed craftsman/woman independent just like his artist colleagues – painters, sculptors or photographers. His/her working modus is comparable to theirs.
His ideas are put in concrete form via sketches, drawings and models; he then proceeds to execute his works. They are realized in a direct exchange between his ideas and his expertise. In the course of realization he is always looking for ways to improve his work and to react to coincidence should the occasion arise.
His way of producing an object qualifies him for the making of unique objects as well as for the development of a prototype for serial production.
The silversmith moves in a variety of milieus: from his workshop to dealing with potential customers – maybe in a country district church – or in the home of a potent collector of traditional and contemporary silver; in the evening he may be attending the lecture of an art historian.
The profession of the silversmith requires intense training and much experience. It usually takes more than ten years until a degree of intellectual and technical ability is reached. Intensive training and a time spent at college are very helpful. But there is also the possibility to get an education along secondary paths – like all artists the silversmith learns his trade everywhere he wishes and throughout his life.
Commercial ability is a great help indeed and he needs a talent to avoid the traps set by bureaucracy and by the existential needs to survive.
There will always be serial products to satisfy the general demand for silver; besides this industrial production there is a niche where small workshops can establish themselves which make unique pieces as small services showing their own distinct style and expression.
At present there is a surprising number of young people (mostly women) who try to establish themselves in a creative profession. It is unlikely that the job of a contemporary silversmith will yield great financial return; on the other hand it offers an attractive and relatively independent position in our society.
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© 2008 Bröhan-Museum | Bronze-Figur: Agathon Léonard, Danseuse au
bracelet (Tänzerin mit Armband), um 1900, Bronze, goldpatiniert,
Susse Frères, Paris | Abb.: Kaffee- und Teeservice, Maison Cardeilhac,
Paris, um 1890 | Webdesign unicom-berlin.de |
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