gold & treasury - introduction

The gold and treasury galleries of the Gilbert Collection contain a dazzling display of rarities. Although many of the items conform to a recognisable shape and seem to have had a practical use, they were often made purely for display and, as a result, remain in pristine condition. Some objects in the collection were specially made for a treasury or display room; a 16th century jewelled mother of pearl partridge and a nef from Regensburg were deliberately made as confections, or as a way of displaying natural curiosities of exceptional beauty or rarity. While other items of a supposedly practical nature are no less decorative; two pairs of massive silver gates are testimony to the power of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Tsars, while a pair of howdahs (chairs for riding elephants) evoke equally strong impressions of British Imperial rule in India. While most of the collection dates from the 16th to the 19th centuries, a few items are extraordinary early survivors, notably, an Anatolian gold ewer from the third millennium BC. A distinctive feature of the collection is its focus on fine craftsmanship and it is much richer in ornamental objects than in utilitarian wares. The information about objects in the gold & treasury section is drawn largely from The Gilbert Collection of Gold and Silver by Timothy B Schroder, with contributions by Philippa Glanville, Janice Leoshko and Alla Theodora Hall. It is published by Los Angeles County Museum of Art and distributed in the UK by Thames and Hudson Ltd., ISBN 0-500-01452-3. Copyright ©1988 by Museum Associates, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. All rights reserved. The Gilbert Collection of Gold and Silver is usually available from the Gilbert Collection shop at Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. back to the collection