Buying Silver & Gold Artworks ‘by Weight’

There is quite a cultural difference between art collectors most particularly from India and Southeast Asia, and those in Europe and the United States, when it comes to buying splendid works of art that happen to be made from either silver or gold. For the latter, the weight of such items is of passing interest. For the former, it is of critical interest when deciding to buy. Present to a client from India (for example) a superb item of silver – even a stunning item made by India’s most pre-eminent silversmith form the 19th century Oomersi Mawji – and the first question that will usually be asked is ‘how much does it weigh’. The weight then becomes the main determinant as to what its price ‘should’ be. It’s not that the ‘right’ price will be its scrap value but rather it will be the scrap value plus some mark-up.

Correspondingly, buyers from India and some other parts of Asia can be genuinely flummoxed when presented with an item that is composed of silver or gold and some other material such that it is not possible to precisely determine how much gold or silver the item might contain: mixed media can be almost a deal killer. All of this is somewhat perplexing to many UK and European gallerists who’s main interest typically is in the brilliance of the artistry involved. Why not sell a painting on the basis of some price per square centimetre of canvas, for surely this is the equivalent they might ponder?

This preoccupation with precious metal weights perhaps reflects the current stage of economic development of India and other countries in Asia. During the Renaissance, in England and Europe, there was a similar preoccupation with the weight of silver and gold artworks. This stemmed from the interchangeability of gold and silver bullion usually in the form of minted gold and silver coins, with ‘plate’ as items fashioned from gold and silver were called. Households, guilds, or other such entities that had enough gold or silver coins for their needs might then present any surplus to a goldsmith and have this excess melted and turned into plate or wares, perhaps silver or gold claret jugs or salvers. Similarly, if difficult times were encountered, then plate could be taken to the mint where it was melted and turned into coins. The kings of England were not above taking their plate to their mint to turn into coins to raise funds to help fight wars overseas for example. This close substitution between plate and coins encouraged plate to be viewed largely in terms of its monetary value. As economies develop and citizens come to feel that the development is permanent and sustained then the aesthetic value of a silver and gold item comes to take up a greater part of its overall commercial value. So over time and with greater economic security, the commercial value of such items become more and more divorced from their melt or scrap value. And this is where we are today. Europe with its established economies and wealth no longer views its plate as money, whereas this remains the view in the more recently developed economies of South and East Asia. But this will change with time.

A superb silver water jug by 19th century India artist Oomersi Mawji. Or 1.2 kilograms of silver that Oomersi Mawji made into a jug? It all depends on your perspective!

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© Michael Backman