A small selection of the finest works in silver created by the artists of the English rococo is presented in a new way, with six items printed in larger format on fold-outs. Reacting against the heaviness of the baroque and against that style's use of architectural features such as columns and pediments on domestic articles, the proponents of the rococo style replaced ponderous symmetry and rhythmic patterns with the curve, the scroll and lively but seldom uncontrolled asymmetry. The natural world, instead of being subjected to the heavy hand of the classical canon, was celebrated for its naturalness. Sea-shells, leaves and flowers could all be depicted realistically, giving ornament a new-found richness.

Illustrated by: Guy Hills