The Times of Malta, March 1, 1995
by Ivan Said

More than 1,500 Malta-made items of silver will be on show at the Palace’s Sala del Gran Consiglio at Valletta between March 31 and April 30.‍

The Silver of Malta, an exhibition of hand-crafted silver for home use, mounted by the Fondazzjoni Patrimnju Malti, will feature unique items of historic and stylistic importance, most of which were loaned to the foundation by Maltese families and collectors, and will be on display for the first time.

A foundation spokesman said that the items on display are just a small number of the many the organisers saw for the purpose of the exhibition.

The silver items represent various periods of craftsmanship in the last 400 years, some of which came from the famous workshops of Troisi, Pianta, Cannataci and Lebrun.

Among items of historic interest are: a 1590 silver-gilt ewer and basin bearing the arms of the Falsoni, Testaferrata, Abela and Xara families; a mid-16th century circular dish; a 1690 outstandingly beautiful baroque coffee pot; an early 18th century Troisi dish and 1722 Manoel de Vilhena dishes.

Other items of stylistic importance are a rosewater dish from the latter half of the 17th century; a Pinto period glove tray; a coffee pot by Michele Pianta; a Rohan period sugar basin; an 1839 pumpkin shaped tea pot, and an 1820 seven piece inkstand by Saverio Cannataci.

The highlight of the exhibition is the recreation of Grand Master Pinto’s state dining table laid out with solid silverware and cutlery of the period coming from various families and collectors.  The layout of the table has been reconstructed according to documented period descriptions and accounts.

To mark the occasion, the foundation has published a lavish catalogue carrying many illustrations and details of the items.  The organisers are also publishing a volume of studies on Maltese silver.  Other studies highlight little known but important masters of the mint and forgotten customs of feasting and fasting in Malta during the time of the Knights.

The book is being printed by Progress Press Ltd.

The exhibition is being mounted with the support of the Ministry of Youth and the Arts.