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Publication on Antwerp Gold and Silver Marks between 1456 and 1798

Until now, no survey work was available with which Antwerp’s gold and silver marks from the ancien régime could be identified. The ‘Antwerp gold and silver marks 1456-1798’ in Dutch by silver specialist Anne-Marie Claessens-Peré is the first systematic overview of city seals, year marks and master marks used in Antwerp between 1456 and 1798. It is a publication of the DIVA museum in cooperation with the Academie voor de Geschiedenis van de Edelsmeedkunst in België vzw (non-profit Academy for the History of Goldsmith art in Belgium). The publication also includes newly identified objects and the discovery of Antwerp objects from the sixteenth century in foreign institutions.

An overview of marks listed in Antwerpse goud- en zilvermerken 1456-1798
Photo: Frederik Hulstaert

Cover of Antwerpse goud- en zilvermerken 1456-1798 by Anne-Marie Claessens-Peré
Photo: Frederik Hulstaert

The book will assist both the enthusiast and the professional in the identification and dating of Antwerp gold and silver objects from 1456 to 1798. Together with Het Grootwerk of Godelieve van Hemeldonck (2005), the biographical directory of Antwerp silversmiths, it forms the basis for further research into Antwerp gold and silver.

More information about this publication can be found (in Dutch) on the website of the DIVA Museum for Diamonds, Jewelry and Silver in Antwerp.