Siena : The Art of Bronze, 1450–1500

This handsomely illustrated book is published to mark the opening of the Goldsmiths' Gallery at the new London Museum in Smithfield. Showcasing the Cheapside Hoard alongside historic treasures from the Goldsmiths' Company's collection, it takes readers on a global journey in the wake of plate, jewels and gemstones - and the people who made, traded and treasured them. Gold and silver are precious - prized as a form of portable capital, essential for the mints and coinage, used to express power and status. Yet great skill was needed in the buying, the fashioning and the selling of either metal. As fashions changed, much early modern plate and jewellery was melted down when sentiment gave way to market value. This makes the survival of the Goldsmiths' Company's holdings exceptional - and the Cheapside Hoard, unearthed by workmen in 1912 after lying undisturbed for nearly 300 years - nothing short of extraordinary. Comprising over 500 pieces - made of emeralds, diamonds and sapphires sourced from across the world, worked into mesmerising brooches, buttons, necklaces and rings - the Cheapside Hoard is the greatest single collection of Elizabethan and Stuart jewellery in the world. The book places the Hoard in its historical and global context, celebrating it alongside highlights from the Goldsmiths' Company's collection. It offers four main chapters on Elizabethan and early Stuart London, the goldsmiths' trade, the Hoard itself, and the city's global networks. Interwoven thematic sections explore craftsmanship, personal stories, trade practices, taste and fashion - bringingtogether jewels and plate to reveal a rich tapestry of skill, style and exchange.