Vermeilleux !

This book makes the reader discover some of the most beautiful masterpieces of the goldsmithery from the 16^th to the 19^th century. Intersection of arts and Europe, free town, Strasbourg was famous for its incomparable gilding and the quality of its goldsmiths. This book honours several generations of goldsmiths of Strasbourg and glorifies three centuries of artistic excellence. It revolves around two chronological sections: germanic influence during the Renaissance and the baroque era, then the french style in the 18^th century, the rocaille style, the neoclassicism and the 19^th century. Main town in the germanic Alsace from where are many princely dynasties, Strasbourg is first a flourishing artistic center oriented towards Germany. A lot of talented goldsmiths are from the powerful corporation called “tribe of the stilt” which rigorously controls the quality of the craftsmen’s work. We count more than 500 hallmarks on the corporation’s plates remaining today. After the annexation of Strasbourg by France in 1681, french influence asserts itself with for instance the building of the Rohan Palace by Robert de Cotte, on the best parisian architects. The town’s particular status, where are maintained less high equity of german silver and less high taxes, thrives the goldsmiths who specialise in the conception of luxurious objects ordered in particular by the reigning houses of the neighboring states of Hesse-Darmstadt or Palatinate.