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The Sliver Age

January 30, 1778
Not on view
Based on a painting by Henry Walton, this print was published as a companion to Benjamin West’s "The Golden Age" (47.100.487). The two titles evoke early periods of human society described by ancient authors such as Hesiod and Ovid. Peace had prevailed in the preceding Golden Age when humans needed to do little work and mingled freely with the Olympian gods. But, in the following Silver Age, strife dominated society and labor became necessary for survival. As translated into eighteenth-century England, that decline is embodied by a weary market girl who has set down her heavy basket of chickens. Smith’s title alerts us to the underlying moral message that criticizes child labor.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Sliver Age
  • Engraver: John Raphael Smith (British, baptized Derby 1751–1812 Doncaster)
  • Artist: After Henry Walton (British, Dickleburgh, Norfolk 1745/46–1813 London)
  • Publisher: John Raphael Smith (British, baptized Derby 1751–1812 Doncaster)
  • Publisher: William Humphrey (British, 1742?–in or before 1814)
  • Publisher: John Boydell (British, Dorrington, Shropshire 1720–1804 London)
  • Date: January 30, 1778
  • Medium: Mezzotint; second state of two
  • Dimensions: Plate: 18 7/8 × 22 5/8 in. (48 × 57.5 cm)
    Sheet: 19 1/2 × 23 5/16 in. (49.5 × 59.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
  • Object Number: 53.600.345
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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