Sicilian silver in Malta between Late Baroque and Neoclassicism : contextual and stylistic reflections

Abstract

The main aim of this contribution is to throw new light and better examine the role played by Sicilian silver within the changing context of the art-historical landscape of the Maltese Islands between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. During this politically-charged period, Malta and Gozo changed hands from the Order of the Knights of St John, to the Napoleonic French forces in 1798, and then, after two dramatic years, to those of the British. It was during these years that artistic taste gradually changed from a Late Baroque ethos in favour of a more contemporary Neoclassical aesthetic. These new international currents were added to the already- existing Late Baroque attitudes, resulting in the coexistence of the two styles. Mindful of the overlaps and cross-fertilisations between different artistic disciplines, this study attempts to understand this development within a holistic art-historical perspective. To date, several studies have focused almost exclusively on the artefacts themselves but they have rarely been placed within a holistic art-historical context of the period3. Such a consideration is fundamental because it is only through a full contextualisation that one can understand the role that such artefacts played. Furthermore, Sicilian works co-existed with several other artefacts which were produced by silversmiths working in Malta, or others which were imported from other places, including Rome. New evidence also shows that Maltese silversmiths were looking at such specimens and were incorporating novel ideas into their works.