Treasures & trade of gold & silver wire

In the Middle Ages, a Livery Company was both a controlled trade guild and a practical training college with apprentices. Founded just over 400 years ago in 1623, the Worshipful Company of Gold & Silver Wyre Drawers continues to support the technology of wiredrawing within a charitable institution.

The technique of wiredrawing is such that a wire can be drawn to the fineness of a human hair! The resulting precious metal wires are used in embroidered textiles, ceremonial regalia, ecclesiastical vestments, uniforms, costumes for the performing arts and virtuoso artworks.

Karen Watts will unlock the secrets of this largely unknown, incredibly intricate and always beautiful craft with detailed images of both historic and contemporary examples.

Karen Watts is the curator and archivist of the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers. She is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Postgraduate Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds; Professeur de Patrimoines et Archéologie Militaires, Ecole du Louvre, Paris; and Curator Emeritus, Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds. She was the curator for a major exhibition held at the Guildhall Art Gallery, London, 2023, Treasures of Gold and Silver Wire. For more information please see the Company’s website –  www.gswd.co.uk.

Image: Embroidered Coat of Arms of the Livery Company. In the 19th century, the sampler format was increasingly used as models of professional work. Made to commemorate the first royal charter of King James I in1623, it ingeniously demonstrates all the range of techniques of drawn wire used in embroidery. British, 1923 (GSWD).