b'5The Edward Clark Collection of Important Australian SilverIve been an antique dealer for more than fifty years. Thats a long time, and Ive handled a lot of wonderful itemsdecorative furniture, chandeliers, the contents of Mysore Palace in India, horse drawn carriages and emu eggs. Most of it Ive enjoyed, much of it I wish Id been able to keep. But I realised very early in my career that I had to learn to let things go. You cant be a dealer and a collector at the same time. Or can you? As a young man and a young dealer I discovered that my real passion was for the rarely encountered and beautiful work of the early Australian silversmiths: they didnt come up very often, they were underappreciated, they were often exquisitely attractive and they wouldnt take up too much room. Id found an area I could collect, which would not get in the way of my tradingI hoped.And here we are, decades later, and Im looking at the catalogue of beautiful pieces Ive collected. The decision to sell in no way reflects a loss of interest or fascination with the collection; its just very hard to add anything to the collection, with so many pieces disappearingand rightly sointo museums and galleries all over Australia. The fact is, Ive never lost my appetite for the work of our Colonial silversmiths. Ever since I bought my first cup by William Edwards, my favourite Melbourne silversmith, I was fascinated by the thought of these newly-arrived artisans working in reduced circumstances, with only gas and candle light in their cramped workshops in Collins Street or Rundle Street, working alongside the mud and slush and bullock drays passing just outside their doors. Despite the primitive surroundings and the distance from the familiar streets and buildings of Europe and England, the demand for objects of beauty and desire inspired great creativity and adaptation.The wealth generated during the gold-rush was clearly a great driver of this opportunity for the creation of new forms of familiar objects: Australian animals replaced the familiar ones of Europe; Australian trees and flowers replace the acorns and thistles of Great Britain; Australian aboriginals and their activities often adorned pieces where Swiss or German heroes or nobility might have otherwise been featured. I loved the way the immigrant silversmiths incorporated these elements into their work. I was particularly attracted to the works of Henry Young, William Edwards, Drummonds, Gaunts, Kilpatrick & Co., George Armfield of Collingwood and Edward Fischer of Geelong. I dont want you to think I never sold any such pieces. In fact, some of the best pieces that came my way found new homes in the Vizard Foundation and the Altmann Collections. Ive also supplied pieces in various collecting areas to the National Gallery, The Powerhouse, Geelong Art Gallery and several private collections.And now its time to say goodbye to these gems. Collecting, enjoying them, sharing them with family and friends has given me great joy. I hope they will find new homes where they will continue to inspire and encourage a new generation of collectors.Thank you to all at Leski Auctions for the beautiful presentation of my collection,Edward Clark'