Antique silver collecting is often more about taste than it is about value. To collect antique silver you first need to have a passion for silver. This will then greatly lead you into a period or style you wish to collect.
Many periods through our history have produced very distinctive styles.
The Queen Anne period from 1702 to 1714 saw a minimalist style in design but much decoration in the form of armorials,crests and motifs.
Baroque is classed as the period from the 17th Century to the 18th Century. It is distinctive for its grand heavy forms,bulbous and often with abundant decoration with elaborate carving and often rich gilding. This period is usually associated with Louis XI, Charles II and William & Mary.
Rococo is credited to the early to mid 18th century. Once again very decorative works with engraved rustic scenes and light gilding.
The late 1700's into the early 1800's saw the influence of North America into Federal designs. Most famous Silversmith for these designs was Paul Revere.
The Victorian Period is very popular among collectors today. From 1837 until 1901 Queen Victoria presided over the growth of the British Empire and wealth creation on a grand scale. This led to the rival of historical styles and extravagant ornamentation. It also saw the first volume production of silver items.
The Art Nouveau period ran between 1890 and 1915 and saw the move waay from the Victorian extravagance towards a more aymmetrical form with curving lines typically made famous by Liberty & Co and Tiffany.
The Art Deco Period followed from 1918 to the 1940's. Streamlined geometric forms with a strong Egyptian influence led to distinctive work from Christofle and Jensen.
The modern day period has been influenced by mass production with distinct work standing out from silversmiths such as Stuart Devlin.
Whatever style takes your fancy there are many factors to be considered by the collector not least of which will be price. Modern silver will be tomorrows antiques and therefore may be a wise starting point in any collecting career. Foe a wide selection of antiques silver and modern silver visit our silver2treasure store.
