Summer 2017

Summer 102 www.afamag.com | w ww.incollect.com N obody has ever needed silver objects. And yet, things made of silver have been used as symbols of wealth and refinement for thousands of years. The Newark Museum’s exhibition of American silver comes at a time when fewer people (i.e., young people) care about sterling objects than ever before. It might seem counterintuitive, but it struck me that this was a perfect—even urgent—moment to talk about silver and its once-profound meaning in American culture. As a longtime curator, I have found that museums sometimes need to go against popular cultural trends to help their audiences understand and appreciate things they think they don’t like. Silver still matters. The craftsmanship, the cultural meaning, and even the way a sterling object was used in the home, all speak to the significance of art in everyday life. It is important—indeed vital—that we understand our own cultural history as a nation. A full grasp of American history is not simply learning about politics and war and social movements. Without knowing about our material history as well, we run the risk of forgetting who we are. Accordingly, the recently installed jewel-box gallery in the museum’s Ballantine House, Style and Status in Sterling: American Silver , focuses on the various ways in which silver objects fit into everyday life from the 1750s to the 1990s. For more information about the exhibit or the Newark Museum, call 973.596.6550 or visit www.newarkmuseum.org. American Silver at the Newark Museum by Ulysses Grant Dietz Style and Status in Sterling