Sagas
The workshop was the centre of apprenticeship and labour in the guild system. In a workshop, a master-craftsman led a team of journeymen, who had not yet passed the exam to become a master and open their own workshop. There were also apprentices, who paid the master-craftsman to learn the trade. he work of the silversmith or jet carver, as in most guilds, had a strong endogamic character, and the sons of the craftsmen were often trained in the workshops of their fathers, continuing the family saga. It was also common for the daughters of silversmiths to marry other silversmiths, or apprentices or journeymen, who where already part in the workshop of their fathers or were integrated in it after the marriage. This endogamy motivated the creation of the great sagas of silversmiths of the history of Compostela, such as the Cedeira —of Portuguese origin, settled in Santiago during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries—, Pecul, Piedra and Bouillier —in the eighteenth century—in the eighteenth century—, or Reboredo, Bermúdez, Rey and Bacariza —in the nineteenth century—. We must also mention some sagas initiated in the last decades of the nineteenth century who are still working today, as the Lado or Otero.
The apprentices
The basic guidelines set out for every guild in Compostela were: the apprentice was the one who paid the master —either with money, in kind, or domestic work— during his apprenticeship. The amount, as well as the contract time, tended to rise over time, as a strategy for harden the conditions and reduce the number of members of the guild to ensure work for all. The masters were responsible for the maintenance, clothing, and footwear of the apprentices, who lived with them. They undertook to prepare their pupils to pass the tests, and if this was not the case, to extend the contract. In the same way, if the apprentice was absent, he had to pay the master an amount equal to the salary of a journeyman. Once the apprenticeship had been completed, the aspirant presented a request for an examination to the City Council of Santiago, who arranged the test, supervised by the observer of the guild and two masters. Once approved, the craftsman could join the brotherhood —Saint Eloy the silversmiths, Saint Sebastian the jet carvers— and open a shop. This examination system was generalised in Spain by a Royal Order of Charles V in 1552 and maintained until the nineteenth century.
It was common for apprentices in most trades to have a humble origin, but silversmiths, however, tended to come from the urban middle classes. For example, the payment to silversmithing masters in apprenticeship contracts reached high levels of money compared to other jobs, and not every family could afford such studies for their children. Also, the salary that the apprentice would earn once he had passed his exam, was higher than in other trades. This was reflected in their social status, which was higher than in other jobs related to the arts, and comparable to that of architects and sculptors.
Exhibition and sale
Some craftsmen had their workshop and shop in the ground floor of their own house, although the best silversmiths could rent the shops in the cloister of the cathedral in Praza das Praterías –“silver shops square”—, which belonged to the chapter of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The jet carvers could rent the small shops of the same institution, on the north side of the basilica, in Rúa da Acibechería —“jet carvers street—. In the workshop, the artists had a place to work and to exhibit their pieces, and customers could buy them directly without having to order them. Another place to exhibit and sell their pieces were the fairs they attended, generally in the city or other areas within Galicia. Other Spanish guilds usually travelled greater distances, as was the case with the silversmiths of Cordoba, who were present at fairs all over the Peninsula. This led the guild of silversmiths from Compostela to protest on several occasions, asking City Council to forbid the presence of foreign artists in order to protect local trade.
