Master silversmiths and their workshops

IN ANCIENT TIMES

Jet carvers and silversmiths

From its foundation, the essence of the city of Compostela came from its Jacobean cathedral. It not only drove the birth and growth of the city but spread its artistic influence in all directions.

The silversmiths of San Eloy and jet workers of San Sebastián were the top guilds in Santiago. Both disciplines can be tracked down as the oldest and most respected trades in the city, famous worldwide for their quality and originality of their creations.

We can follow the trail of Compostela masters from the Middle Ages to our days thanks to the pieces found at museums, cathedrals, churches and monasteries across five continents.

NOWADAYS

Workshops

The trade is still alive thanks to the workshops. In keeping with the tradition, some are still operating in the same spots the old guilds made famous: the praza das Praterías and the rúa da Acibechería.

Here, traditional pieces and antiques share their space with novel designs made from new materials.

The skill and creativity shown by masters make them artists able to blend tradition and modernity, creating unique pieces that showcase their vision on silversmithing.

The expansion of a thousand-year-old legacy

When it comes to the 21st century, the Compostelan silversmithing is in full swing thanks to the research, development, and innovation (R&D&i) initiatives many workshops have launched in the past few years.

New techniques, signature designs and state-of-the-art creations aim to take Compostelan silversmithing/precious metalwork to new heights never reached before in its recent history.

New technologies coexist alongside traditional methods, improving the competitiveness of workshops and helping them in their national and international expansion.

To help preserve this ancestral trade and give it the respect it deserves, workshops need, more than ever, the support and acknowledgement of institutions and the general public.