Show WM Q obory y of c 61 0 0 3 al W ON A R Z A an afghan silversmiths shop hy by national geographic society washington ix C service story of silver Is a very old T THE one F for or ages it has been popular among coin and ornament makers yet today its name flares in the dews headlines to an eian eben greater e extent aba than n that ot of its fellow precious metal gold loss less costly than gold or platinum almost plastic ln the hands of 0 clever silversmiths silvers everyday uses are legion not every one Is born with a silver spoon in his bis mouth yet the spoon in some form is almost as old as man or r at least as one witty frenchman taid laid certainly as old as soup one greek example in the british Brili sli museum has a stem ending in a goats hoof pliny speaks of spoons whose handles were shaped like spikes to perforate eggs the famous apostle spoons usually in sets of 13 tile the additional one with the figure of christ were once popular gifts to a newborn new born child made in ack its handle an image of st SL reter peter one such spoon Is on view now at wanamakers Wana makers in new york knives and forks came much lucli later that the head bead of the family should carve at table may have come from the fact that in old days men carried knives for defense forks were not generally used till the early irth century when italian nobility started the fashion the practice though some thought it effeminate gradually spread to other countries the english novelist james wrote of the culture of the siver fork school without their affectation the lytal ot of now how young people should behave gives these guides to correct table manners your knife is to be kept clean and sharp eat your broth with a spoon not sip it you are not to leave your your dish nor dor dip your meat in the malcre salt old beliefs cling to some silver articles malays balays make a betrothal cup it sa its filled with airth betel pepper leaf and d sent by a man to the girl lie wishes as a wife if she Is agreeable the site accepts the cup and eats cats some of the leaf malays balays also use a silver box rounded like an apple for ceremonies at the first shaving of little boys heads and sit at ear pierc ings sometimes tills this box Is brought to a wedding when a lock of the brides hair Is burled buried lu in it under a banana tree for good luck odd uses of silver articles in tsarist russia the of a toast stood in the center ot of the room drained his silver bratina or drinking cup cop and then to prove his sincerity turned it upside down over his bis beada the sumptuousness ot of the tsars asars plate was proverbial in this collection was a famous english wine cistern weighing ounces with a bathtub capacity HOW this vessel raffled oft off in 1735 1785 when funds were sought for a bridge over the thames finally came to the winter palace at petrograd Petro grad now leningrad has long been a mystery barcelona spain used to present each visiting member of royalty with a magnificent silver service remindful of a similar courtesy sometimes extended by one of our own states when a new ship has been named in its konor honor on dining tables of tile the rich from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries silver ships origin originally ally designed to hold the knives and napkins and sometimes the wine made fit striking center pieces in toledo spain Is one such vessel which belonged to the daughter of 0 isabella and ferdinand these ships were called As early as 10 1392 90 2 italy records a silver net nef on wheels a foreshadow 0 of f the popular german and dutch models of later years tears after the conquest of mexico and peru silver flooded the markets ol of burcope especially spain one visitor to the spanish capital in the sixteenth century observed utensils of 0 corn coin nion mon metal are not employed here on LY ij of silver or of ware upon tile the death aca h of the duke ot of albuquerque six weeks were needed to make inventory of his gold and silver services nearly a century before the revola tion lion pioneer new england sUver silversmiths smiths were busy at their benches among this group was william moulton of 0 newburyport mass pieces designed by him are among silver treasures shown in the metropolitan museum of art in new york once newburyport rang with the sound ot of hammer and saw and ships built there carried colonial wares to the ends of the earth bringing back coins which its silversmiths melted for use in their art this was known as coin silver itinerant artisans worked even into our F far ar west until well past the making knives forks and spoons from silver dollars colonial silversmiths newburyport however Is unique for its continuity in sliver work since one family tile the Moul tons made sterling through six generations the fourth being competitors 0 of paul revere when the last ot of the Moul tons laid down his tools some years before our civil war an apprentice anthony towle was among those who carried on the ancient traditions of the craft and today the pioneer factory bears his name colonial silversmiths flourished in spite of such puritan sentiments as john adams expressed in a letter to Ms his wife it if I 1 had power I 1 would forever banish from america all gold silver silk velvet and lace in boston before 1800 more than names of silversmiths are recorded and its rich merchants bought much costly silverware british officers stationed in new york before the revolution were astonished at the wealth of silver used in fashionable homes there our own navajo indians are good silversmiths using merely a forge and hand bellows with a small anvil and other simple tools they make buttons beads bracelets rings crosses bridle mountings and buckles as native works as a concession to american demand they add miniature canteens stickpins stick pins hat bands knives forks and spoons in such studios as that of Go in Pro providence viderlee designers create an amazing variety of silver prize cups and trophies often in the form of horses halll sailing craft or athletes in action tiffany wallace international and others are also known for artistic creations in this field silver in olden times silver jewelry was not new when wives of the pharaohs Phara dressed up helen of troy used a burnished silver mirror to admire the face that launched a thousand ships when cleopatra flirted with mark antony on the nile gleaming silver oars splashed softly in the moonlight silver jewelry Is worn in the orient evil charms made to guard against from coffin nails covered with slim silver are common in parts of china in india a peasant father may mortgage his whole future to deck a marriageable daughter with silver wealthy indian women carry many pounds of this jewelry at one time and tinkle liked belled cows as a s they walk gold and silver in spain reserved for the ruling class were whose passion tor for show led to fabulous with decoration then the moors came hands handa for tte the treasure after greedy the battle ot of the Guad Guadal alete etc stripping the victors muslim nobles by dead identified the their fingers and upon rings golden those of less exalted rank by their sll sit ver rings to the lorans ferzely indifferent Seen cly ornamentation and sliver silver t baa an on gold everything embellished moors moora em the furniture and ad even trap dress to from and add mules similarly ings tor for horses cattle barons baron modern south american modern as silver of pure pore and bridles bits use ise stirrups well ell as cruet cruel sharp edged to dig tor for him a his horse I ue bids describing 0 said one writer gravel ravo uh tillyer plated turk turkish scenes hoofe hoots 1 |