Gold: Power and Allure at Goldsmiths' Hall

Entry: Free

While I was experimenting with gold leaf last week my tutor suggested I visit the current exhibition at Goldsmiths' Hall, Gold: Power and Allure. It's free, which was enough of a reason for me to go. Goldsmiths' Hall belongs to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, one of the many livery companies of the City of London. The Goldsmiths' Company was founded to regulate the craft of goldsmithing and has been responsible for testing the quality of gold and silver since 1300. More recently, platinum and palladium have also been added to their remit. They run the Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office, responsible for applying hallmarks to goods, (hallmarks = marks made in the Goldsmith's Hall), and perform the Trial of the Pyx, the annual examination of coins from the Royal Mint.

"Power and Allure" is undoubtedly intended to promote the work of British goldsmiths; the central theme of the show is Britain's long tradition of goldsmithing, (the oldest items date from 2500 BC, though it's obviously unknown if these were actually crafted in Britain). The work on display is spread over three floors, and the ground floor focuses mainly on the work of contemporary goldsmiths. The first floor contains historical pieces and also shows some uses for gold that you might not have thought about, such as picture frames and book covers. Then there's a small basement room containing textiles that use gold thread, which included an unfinished piece of embroidery that proved inspirational for my own work.

I went without any expectations – not low expectations, I hasten to add, I just hadn't thought about it all – so I don't know what I can say beyond the fact that I really enjoyed the show. All of the contemporary work is stunning and the historical work is both beautiful and fascinating; there's lots to take in about the history of gold in Britain. (They've also done a good job of tying it into other big British events taking place this year as there are Olympic medals on display and plenty of old royal regalia.) The building is appropriately opulent as well.

I have one minor gripe, which is that it's often unclear which label goes with which object in a cabinet, (normally if the labels are along the bottom of the cabinet I'd expect to see numbers by the objects, which can then be matched to numbers by the labels), but this hardly seems a big issue. It's a gorgeous show and I hope British goldsmiths do see increased interest in their work as a result.