|
Filing, hammering, soldering, annealing, casting, burnishing, and
polishing were some of the techniques used by eighteenth- and early
nineteenth-century silversmiths. Today, when so much silver is factory
made, SPNEA licensee Steve Smithers uses the same traditional methods
as the early craftsmen. SPNEA is proud to introduce three of his
handmade reproduction silver pieces to its Historic New England
collection. Two of the originals, a mug and a beaker, date from
the second quarter of the eighteenth century. The third piece, an
unusual miniature tankard, was given by its maker's sister to her
granddaughter, Mary Smith, shortly after her birth in 1757.
Smithers begins the reproduction process at SPNEA, where he photographs,
measures, and draws the originals. Back home in his studio, he rolls
silver into sheets and shaped wires, places patterns on top, scribes,
and finally cuts. Using a variety of hammers, forms, and anvils,
he shapes and fits the pieces together, solders and smooths the
joints, then finally cleans and polishes each piece. The resulting
finish, with its slight irregularities, has a richness to its surface
that can only be created by the skilled hand of a master craftsman.
Smithers, who has been practicing his craft since 1975, says he
often feels as though he is "painting with a hammer,"
as it takes thousands of hammer blows to complete each object.
|
