V&A's Gilbert Galleries Connect Historic Silver with Contemporary Craft

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has launched a multisensory station in Room 72b of the Gilbert Galleries, connecting historic silver objects with modern making techniques. The station features three films demonstrating engraving, chasing, and embossing, created in collaboration with the Goldsmiths' Centre and Bishopsland Educational Trust. These films showcase the skills of young makers Harry Stokes and Charlie Lewis, who produced silver touch plaques inspired by Arthur Gilbert's coat of arms, featuring a partridge. The project aims to make the Gilbert Collection's silver more accessible by allowing visitors to see and feel the techniques used. The Gilbert Collection, assembled by Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert between the 1960s and 1990s, includes over 300 pieces of gold and silver, with a focus on European silver from 1500 to 1900, but also includes rare global objects like an Indian howdah and a Peruvian gold cup. A highlight is the partridge cup, a silver-gilt drinking cup made by German goldsmith Georg Rühl around 1600, which became Arthur Gilbert's heraldic symbol when he was knighted in 1999. The collaboration underscores the importance of preserving traditional silversmithing skills, as noted by Angela Cork, Principal of Bishopsland, who emphasized the value of learning from historic objects. The V&A hopes visitors will gain a deeper appreciation for silver craftsmanship.