ABSTRACT
Although scholars have emphasised an early modern shift from material to skill in the visual arts, objects in precious metal often dominated courtly display and diplomacy. The goldsmiths who crafted these works enjoyed extraordinary status as artisans throughout Europe, frequently relocated to meet the demands of an international group of patrons and bridged the artistic cultures of court and city. So too, the fungibility of gold and silver and the near-universal appreciation of the skills of smiths meant that a robust market for metalwork from distant lands, including Mamluk Egypt and Portuguese Goa, competed with local supplies. The flourishing princely imperative of self-representation through collecting and display drove an expansive industry for metalwork to frame the rarities and natural specimens that filled cabinets of curiosity.
