‘Wereldlijcke ende geestelijcke dochters, het peerlegaten doende’: the female hand in early modern Antwerp gold and silverwork

During the sixteenth century, Antwerp became an epicentre for skilled gold and silversmiths, who organised themselves into the Saint Eligius guild. This guild excluded women from registering as masters and, therefore, from working as goldsmiths. However, women did enjoy certain privileges in early modern Antwerp—wives of goldsmiths were authorised by their husbands to conduct business, and widows administered the atelier of their deceased husbands. Although the unique status of women in the city has been recognised, their contributions as makers remain underexplored in art historical research. Rediscovered archival sources preserved in the FelixArchief in Antwerp, discussing the establishment of a parelgaterambacht, reveal that the craft of pearl-drilling was mostly a female occupation. Apart from a small publication in 1924, these documents have hardly been studied, and neither has the technique of pearl-drilling, especially in relation to the objects containing pearls. By revisiting these archival sources and close analysis of gold and silversmithing techniques, such as drilling and setting pearls into precious metalwork, this article demonstrates the complex role of women in the early modern silversmith’s atelier, where they participated in the technical and creative processes of object-making.