Antique Silver

Antiquares offers to value your antique Silver.
We are members of the AAI, Italian Antiquarian Association, and we have been operating with passion in this sector for over fifteen years. If you have antique silver that you would like us to evaluate please do not hesitate to contact us at the following phone number: 392 6587032, or send us photographs to the following email address: antiquares@virgilio.it, please be sure to include any information you might have about the object. You can also fill in the appropriate form
We remain at your disposal for any clarifications, guaranteeing maximum discretion and trustworthiness.

Silver in the world of Antiques:
This is one of the most antique materials to work with. The first to use it were the Romans.
After a long lapse of time we can find it again widespread and part of every day life in the ‘400s, with the creation of ornaments, utensils and table centerpieces.
It was at this time that Arts and Crafts guilds were created,their predominant interest was trading antique Silver.
Stamping silver first appeared in Byzantium starting in the VII century, but appeared in Europe only several centuries later.
Brief descriptions on the manufacturing techniques of silver.
Cut out: consists in cutting out the surface of the artifact for either practical or decorative reasons.
Engraving:is a decoration of antique silver, which was done at room temperature.
A deformation of the silver is created with a chisel (an instrument with a handle that is between 10 and 15 cm long and has a tips of various shapes so as to allow a variety of decorations).
A sheet of silver was fixed to a support covered in tar and on the rest of it designs were embossed so as to obtain a bas-relief.
Incision: with this technique antique silver was carved to form a decoration with an instrument named burin that grooves and removes the silver.
Filigree: Metals are drawn and turned into thin filaments that are then intertwined, so as to produce decorations such as arabesque.
Niello: One or more metallic sulfides are used to decorate silver.

Silver has always been a synonym of wealth. The most precious productions of silver were from countries such as Russia, Germany, England, France, Italy, Spain, Austria and Sweden.
Every era had a precise style; the exact date of an object is determined by the stamp(brand of guarantee). In fact it is through the stamp that the original artisan’s brand can be determined as well as the purity of the silver. It is also the stamp that allow us to understand if the object is authentic. The factors that determine the price of silver are various; for the most rare pieces often the request is higher than the offer.
Italian Silver is the rarest and most sought after therefore it’s price is higher.
As it is for all antique objects, another important element for the estimate of a silver artifact is it’s state of conservation; small scratches are not critical whereas the presence of black stains, holes andwelds will cause a noticeable decrease in value.
An incorrect cleaning can cause the removal of the patina therefore reducing the value of the antique silver object.
The value of an object can also depend on what it is: for example in English silver of the XVIII
– XIX Centuries the coffee pots were less frequent than the teapots, for this reason the value of the first is higher than the value of the second.