GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Pure silver is very soft, malleable, white, ductile, and is considered a precious metal. Silver is widely distributed throughout the world, occurring rarely as metallic silver and more often as silver-gold alloy and silver ore. As a pure metal, silver is second to gold in malleability and ductility, can be polished to a highly reflective surface, and used - typically in an alloy - in jewelry, coinage, photography, mirrors, electrical contacts, and tableware.
Sterling is a standard high-grade silver alloy and means that the item contains a minimum of 925 parts silver (at least 92.5% silver); the rest is copper to give it more strength, and allows it to hold a shape. Sterling silver is found in the form of hollowware, jewelry, tableware, flatware, and coins.
Silver plate contains only an outside layer of sterling silver, usually with nickel underneath.
Adapted from
- Barbara Deppert-Lippitz, Ancient Gold Jewelry at the Dallas Museum of Art, (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art in association with the University of Washington Press, 1996), 20.
- Getty Vocabulary, AAT (silver (metal): AAT: 300011029).
- Kevin Tucker, DMA unpublished material, Gallery text, American Art, "Silver Terms."
NOTES
Additional materials related to this content chunk appear below. Relevant Getty and DMA terms added as note tags.
Updated format and removed #draft tag and changed to #incomplete - JBA 8/1/17
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
set operator as OR
apply to objects where medium contains sterling
apply to objects where medium equals silver
apply to objects where medium contains silverplate
Category
rules_operator
OR
General Description
Pure silver is very soft, malleable, white, ductile, and is considered a precious metal. Silver is widely distributed throughout the world, occurring rarely as metallic silver and more often as silver-gold alloy and silver ore. As a pure metal, silver is second to gold in malleability and ductility, can be polished to a highly reflective surface, and used - typically in an alloy - in jewelry, coinage, photography, mirrors, electrical contacts, and tableware.
Sterling is a standard high-grade silver alloy and means that the item contains a minimum of 925 parts silver (at least 92.5% silver); the rest is copper to give it more strength, and allows it to hold a shape. Sterling silver is found in the form of hollowware, jewelry, tableware, flatware, and coins.
Silver plate contains only an outside layer of sterling silver, usually with nickel underneath.
Adapted from
- Barbara Deppert-Lippitz, Ancient Gold Jewelry at the Dallas Museum of Art, (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art in association with the University of Washington Press, 1996), 20.
- Getty Vocabulary, AAT (silver (metal): AAT: 300011029).
- Kevin Tucker, DMA unpublished material, Gallery text, American Art, "Silver Terms."
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Additional materials related to this content chunk appear below. Relevant Getty and DMA terms added as note tags.
Updated format and removed #draft tag and changed to #incomplete - JBA 8/1/17
rules
Apply To
Objects
medium
Contains
sterling
Apply To
Objects
medium
Equals
silver
Apply To
Objects
medium
Contains
silverplate
source file
materials_and_techniques-0118.xml.nores