V&A silver on loan
Fish slice, Lucian Taylor, silver,1996
An exhibition of contemporary silver on loan from the V&A goes on show at York’s Fairfax House Museum (until 31 December)
The pieces are from the Rabinovitch collection which was put together by Professor B. Seymour Rabinovitch and given by him to the V&A in 2005. It started off as a collection of 18th-century fish knives, but then in the 1980s, there was a change of direction, and Rabinovitch started commissioning contemporary silver. He didn’t completely abandon the collection’s original focus as the silversmiths were asked to make silver servers inspired by 18th-century examples, but it was a fairly loose brief as the style and interpretation was left up to the individual makers. The results are a fascinating resumé of the last twenty odd years of silversmithing, featuring many of the best names in the field. All the usual suspects are represented such as Rod Kelly, Michael Rowe and Kevin Coates as well as younger makers including Ane Christensen, David Clarke, and Rabinovitch’s wife, the jeweller Flora Book.
Only 35 out of the total 99 pieces are on show in the current exhibition, but it’s better than nothing as normally the V&A is only able to exhibit one or two pieces. And Fairfax House – a Georgian town house – provides a great setting for the silver as its original architecture underlines the 18th-century inspiration behind the collection.
www.fairfaxhouse.co.uk
