Keeping the Hammers' Voice Alive

Silversmithing is the craft of creating three-dimensional objects from a flat sheet of usually, but not exclusively, silver. The metal is ‘raised’ by hammering the silver sheet over steel anvils to make vertical vessels, or to be used to construct other objects. <br/>The “specific” Ecuadorian silversmith knowledge system is an “hybrid” system produced by the colonial encounter, but its ancient pre-Hispanic roots are still traceable within contemporary practice in a variety of ways. This presentation <br/>concentrates only on a) the pre-Hispanic technique of vessel raising known as "embutido" that is still in use, and b) the cultural understanding of metals and masters’ relationship with them.<br/>