The Albert Collection: Five Hundred Years of British and European Silver

Description

This unique collection of beautiful and intriguing objects, more than 700 pieces of British and European silver, was put together over the past forty years by a discerning English enthusiast. It is striking for its great variety of types, the five centuries represented and the widespread places of making, from Finland to Italy, offering an unparalleled overview of design and technique, as well as a social history of silver for eating, drinking, around the house and as accessories to daily life. Selected with a keen eye for their excellent condition, their historical interest, and their inherent quality, most objects are of museum standard, although no single museum holds so many examples of flatware, from England and France and drinking vessels from Spain, Germany, France and Britain, of such diverse designs and dates. Tableware ranges in scale and date from a bread basket by Paul Crespin to an elegant modern caviar spoon. Great names from the story of English silver are present, from Paul Storr and the royal goldsmiths Robert Garrard, Philip Rundell and Benjamin Pyne, to leading Huguenots, such as John Hugh le Sage, David Willaume and Edward Feline. A caster from Charles Kandler's

Robin Butler has been a specialist dealer in British silver, furniture and glass for more than forty years. A well known lecturer and broadcaster on antiques, he has appeared on the Antiques Road Show and Collectors' Lot and now lives and works in Suffolk.