L'orfèvrerie québécoise dans le contexte muséal : une relecture contemporaine de la Collection Henry Birks d'orfèvrerie canadienne

The author notes that the presence of Quebec’s silverware in North American museums depends on the collecting activities of many individuals who have inserted them into coherent ensembles that they sold, bequeathed and donated to these institutions. The author analyzes the "museum discourse" relating to Quebec’s silverware, notably within the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa which holds the Henry Birks Collection of Canadian Silver, the most representative and voluminous of its kind in the world. In 1936 Montrealer Henry Gifford Birks (1892-1985) began to collect examples of marks used on sterling silver articles produced before 1899. In the course of his research, Birks became concerned that the supply of early Canadian sterling silverware produced by master craftsmen was disappearing and he began collecting outstanding examples. In time, what became known as the Henry Birks Collection of Canadian Silver evolved into the most comprehensive collection of antique Canadian silver in existence. In 1979 the Henry Birks Collection of Canadian Silver, comprising approximately 12,000 objects, was donated to the National Gallery of Canada. The author examines the history of the Birks Collection in order to better characterize it and show its impact on the studies involving Canadian silverware between 1930 and 2000. The development and dissemination efforts executed by the Birks Collector and the National Gallery are then compared in order to make a critical historical reading of the collection and its museum representation.

Master's Thesis

Université de Montréal

Montréal

2017

x-122-xl p.

fr