Word: silver
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Parked near by was a huge blue and silver trailer always ready to roll off for a royal romp. Saud was accompanied in exile by a fleet of flashy cars, 20 chauffeurs and an entourage that occupied 60 of the hotel's 72 rooms at a monthly rate of nearly $67,000. He was as wealthy as any king need be, and wealthier than almost any are these days. Reasonably accurate guesses pegged his bank balance at some $600 million, drawn from royalties on the oil that has been gushing for years from beneath the golden sands of Saudi...
ONCE, the art of the silversmith was high art. In the Middle Ages silver in Europe was reserved for kings, princelings and powers, whether religious or secular. An established sculptor like Benvenuto Cellini did not consider it beneath him to fashion elaborate silver ewers and saltcellars, even though they looked more like the Trevi fountain than a functional device...
...tradition of artistic elegance passed on to succeeding generations of silversmiths, and continued even after the discovery of Peru's rich silver mines in 1533 made the metal available to Europe's relatively common people. A selective congeries of master craftsmen began to turn out standard household items: porringers, tankards, sherry beakers, stirrup cups, and such utilitarian items as knives and spoons. Their art was so prolific, in fact, that for years nobody paid much attention to the artistic quality of their products...
Somewhat Stunned. In the past several years, collectors have discovered that a good many of these early designers not only produced objects that were intrinsically valuable but incorporated superb designs that have not yet been matched. The result has been a spectacular boom in the silver market that has left even its dealers somewhat stunned. In the past four years, they figure, the average price of silver pieces has approximately doubled...
...reasons are various. Unlike fine porcelain or glassware, silver is rugged enough to be used on the dining table. George I coffeepots go for as high as $15,000 and George II candlesticks for $3,000, largely because any host can not only use them, but be more than proud to display them. (What housewife dares entrust to a maid, or even herself, the washing of a Ming plate or a Meissen cup?) Some private collectors are charmed by the nostalgia that exudes from an emblazoned baronial crest, enchanted by the social history implicit in a snuffbox and fascinated...