In continuing partnership with the Washington Trust, Memoria Technica is pleased to announce a quarterly lecture series at the Stimson-Green Mansion, open to anyone with an interest in horology and decorative arts.

Join us for a journey through the history of science, art, and mechanical timekeeping. This series features guest speakers from many disciplines related to aspects of the horological field, including engine turning, mechanical magic, ornamental turning, celestial bodies and navigation, and the art of the goldsmith.

The next lecture will be held Tuesday, August 14th, 2018:

The Art of the Goldsmith : Phillip Peck

The techniques of the goldsmith remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of years until roughly the middle of the eighteenth century. The emerging new technologies referred to as the “industrial revolution” shifted economies from agrarian to industrial. With this rapid and wide reaching advancement came changes in not only the manner in which items were made, but in fact all together new and different items. From this point on the goldsmith’s tools and practice changed gradually to become something quite different, while below the surface, remaining quite the same. Phillip will first explore the defining techniques of goldsmiths shaped by the available technologies of the period, from antiquity to the 18th century and then discuss the changes that occurred during the industrial revolution through modern times, focusing on emerging technologies, mineral discoveries and expanding markets. These new technologies and discoveries coupled with new opportunities resulted in a new goldsmith, a new workshop, and a very different industry. Phillip offers insight into which techniques and practices may have been lost in the last three hundred years, both their perceived and practical value, and the challenges in preserving elements of such an ancient and necessary art form.

Phillip Peck is a master goldsmith and horologist with over thirty-five years of experience. His workshop fabricates everything from miniature resonating bells, musical pocket watch mechanisms, masterworks of jewelry, and other horological objects. 

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