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 SMP Silver Salon Forums
 A Curator's Viewpoint
 Firestone Collection in Boston
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| Author | Topic: Firestone Collection in Boston |
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akgdc Posts: 289 |
posted 10-22-2001 05:13 PM
  
I was in Boston the other day and had a chance to stop by the Museum of Fine Arts to see its silver collection -- in particular, the Firestone Collection of French silver, which the museum acquired about five years ago. For anyone interested in old silver, this is well worth a visit. Pre-1789 French hollowware is quite rare, of course, especially in the United States. But the Firestone Collection includes hundreds of pieces, mostly 18th century but dating back as far as the 16th. It's well displayed in two full rooms, with helpful wall texts and illustrations explaining the intricacies of French hallmarking (a system so fiendishly complex that I've heard it said it must have been devised by the Marquis de Sade), Paris vs. provincial silver, etc. There's even a re-creation of an 18th-c. dinner table showing how the various plates and dishes would have been arranged. Among the exceptional pieces are ewers, dinner plates, figural sauceboats and coffeepots by the Germains, Balzac, and other masters. I was left wondering whether the MFA has any plans to publish a catalogue of the Firestone Collection. In the museum shop I saw a two-volume illustrated catalogue of the museum's English silver collection, but nothing yet on its French silver. I really hope such a volume (or volumes) is in the works. The only other such work in English is Faith Dennis's "French Domestic Silver" catalogue from the Met, which is now more than 40 years old and quite hard to come by. With half an effort, the MFA could easily supplant Dennis's book. The Firestone display is so intelligently done that I imagine the catalogue would be equally impressive. Do any silverphiles or curators out there know whether the MFA is working on this? [This message has been edited by akgdc (edited 10-22-2001).] IP: Logged |
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Ulysses Dietz Moderator Posts: 1265 |
posted 10-23-2001 09:09 AM
Collection catalogues are a big buggaboo in museums today. They are very costly to produce, and sell very poorly--thus museum directors tend to discourage them. Scholarly books tied to major exhibitions are another story, because they can count on a broader public to buy them--rather than just collectors and other scholars. I know the American silver collection catalogue at the MFA has been struggling with just this kind of attitude. Scholars and collectors aren't seen as a top priority audience any more. In some ways this is appropriate (i.e. museums are here to benefit the general public), but in other ways it is frustrating and self-defeating (scholarship takes a back seat to showmanship). Even in rich museums this is a problem, and in smaller museums it has become an even bigger problem. IP: Logged |
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akgdc Posts: 289 |
posted 10-23-2001 09:26 AM
That's a shame, but not too surprising ... though the MFA, from what I saw, seems to have published some pretty good catalogues of various other parts of its decorative-arts collection. Did you mean to say that there's a catalogue of the American silver collection in progress, but stalled? Or that the curators would like to start such a project? Given what the MFA has already invested in acquiring, restoring, and installing its French silver (which was hardly destined to be much of a public draw), it doesn't seem like producing a catalogue would represent so much extra outlay. IP: Logged |
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Ulysses Dietz Moderator Posts: 1265 |
posted 10-26-2001 09:00 AM
There is an American silver catalogue in the works now at the MFA Boston, and it's been going on for years. How they ultimately publish it is the question--a limited print edition with the entire book being published electronically is one thing that's been discussed. E-publishing is one way places are thinking about making scholarship accessible without the cost of printing a book.� A large catalogue costs from $100,000 to $200,000 depending on the size and the amount of color photography, as well as the number printed. The photography alone can be enormous for a large book. But this is from my museum's perspective. Remember, acquisition funds for objects have nothing to do with any other costs in a museum. THose funds are kept separately, and cannot be touched for anything but purchasing collection objects. Book publishing tends to be at the bottom of the list of funding priorities, whereas installation of galleries is much higher up on the priority list. Of course I really can't speak for the MFA, and even less so for their European dec. arts department. IP: Logged |
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