We recently received a commission for a silver sculpture with a nautical theme. We wanted to make something quite contemporary but using the more traditional silverrmithing techniques and finishes. The piece which is 20″ in height and 12″ in length is made from one single sheet of silver (except for the base) to minimise the number of soldering joints. The more times the silver is heated and soldered the more the metal will warp.
The curves of the piece are formed by gently annealing the silver which involves heating it to a particular temperature and then hand raising the metal over different shaped stakes. This labour intensive process is one of the of the most traditional silversmithing techniques. The piece is then finished by planishing the metal which involves hammering the surface with highly polished hammers. This process refines the surface after raising. We have also used planishing to give the piece a hammer marked finish which can be seen in the picture above.
The piece is also stamped with an Irish hallmark from the Assay office in Dublin. We send all our work there to have the metal tested and hallmarked. Ireland is one of eighteen countries in the world that has an authorised Assay office.
