Few realise that gold can be found in Great Britain, and that attempts to exploit native sources have drawn prospectors from ancient Rome to Elizabethan adventurers and current commercial projects in Ireland Scotland and Wales. In Gold: Power and Allure, eleven essays by distinguished specialists tell of the rich and previously untold story of Britain and its relationship with gold, demonstrating the country’s unique golden heritage. Essays include: ‘The Gold of Antiquity’ by Kevin Leahy from the Portable Antiquities Scheme; ‘London - the World’s Gold Market’ by Timothy Green; and ‘Gold, golden, gilded: precious metal on the dining table’ by Philippa Glanville. The editor and one of the authors of the book, historian Dr Helen Clifford, explains that the challenge has been to draw together the many strands that make a single precious metal so special and central to human society. With the focus on Britain it has been possible to assemble a story that goes far back into geological time and forward to the most cutting edge goldworking, where this country excels. It reveals a story of the continuity of man’s fascination with gold, from the Bronze Age to modern city finance, via a breathtaking range of more than four thousand years of work. In essence it is a story of global connections and one where the familiar is transmuted into the iconic, via the power of gold.
Easily mistaken for a bar of solid gold, this generously illustrated book features objects from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; the Louvre, Paris; British Museum, London; and Victoria and Albert Museum, amongst others.