items for inclusion in the Bermuda National Gallery's forthcoming exhibition, Made in Bermuda, she was already familiar with locally made silverware, but had no idea what items she would find during her two-day whirlwind "treasure hunt.'' By her own admission she had "done a lot of study and reading about the history and economy of Bermuda to understand how the local silversmiths might make a living here in the pre-industrial period (18th century)'', but wanted not only to see for herself the things she knew about, but also to find other pieces which would broaden her knowledge of silver in Bermuda.

Certainly, her credentials left Mrs. Sloane well prepared for the task. As head of Christie's silver department in New York, she is responsible for four silver auctions per year. She has also appraised silver for the popular TV programme, Antiques Road Show, and has written articles for various publications, including Antiques Magazine, and co-authored an exhibition catalogue.

Prior to joining Christie's, Mrs. Sloane was curator of the Newport Historical Society, which has a fine collection of Rhode Island silver, and she had also taught lecture courses in the history of decorative arts at the Parsons School of Design, the Bard master's programme, and Christie's education course in New York and Los Angeles.

Once here, the New York expert lost no time in pursuing her quest for Bermuda-made silver, which took her into homes and churches. In the process, however, she discovered pieces from other parts of the world which filled in gaps in her knowledge.

"Such pieces have been in Bermuda private collections, which was interesting because they don't appear in books. People here are more familiar with the Bermuda-made silver,'' she revealed. "One day I saw a spoon from Charleston in the Bermuda Historical Society museum which I didn't know was there, so that rounds out the picture.'' Mrs. Sloane explained that, because most local silversmiths would have gone abroad to study their craft, it naturally followed that outside influences figured in their designs. Thus, she found pieces reflecting various North American and European styles, as well as having attractive engravings.

So did this mean there was no indigenous silver style? The expert was ambivalent.

"I found several pieces by Bermuda makers of the late 18th century that begin to make a Bermudian style,'' she responded. "An auxiliary thought is that because there were very many outside influences, and the scale of silver production was small, it is difficult to define a collective style in Bermuda.'' She admitted, however, that she had made some new discoveries.

"For me there have been some exciting new pieces, new patterns of Bermuda-made silver which have been critical to my study, because one piece alone doesn't make an oeuvre .'' Due to the Island's small size, and the lack of patronage for large pieces, such as e Mpergnes. Mrs. Sloane explained that the Bermuda silver story largely centred around spoons, although cutlery in general and jewellery were also prominent. She felt that one of its most interesting features was the heavy gauge of silver used by local craftsmen, which gave the pieces a particularly pleasing "feel'' when held.

Mrs. Sloane also noted that, because of the Island's size, the scale of silversmithing was correspondingly small, so "to even find a handful of pieces by one maker really rounds out the picture of that maker's work''.

Interestingly, however, she said that, again because of Bermuda's size, silversmiths continued to produce hand-made pieces as late as the early 1900s.

In terms of church silver, the colonial expert's curiosity was again piqued.

"I found some very interesting and unique 18th century Bermuda church silver,'' she revealed. "Some of it was London made, used here, and then taken back.'' A graduate of Brown University, who earned her Master's degree from the Winterthur Museum programme in decorative arts, Mrs. Sloane said her fascination for silver stems from the fact that she considered it "one of the more interesting areas of decorative arts''.

"Silver is unique in that it has intrinsic value,'' she explained. "In pre-industrial times silver was currency, so by definition you needed to put money into these objects, so they would generally be very fashionable and reflect style.'' In terms of trade, she said that relationships between countries could also be defined in silver.

"I found it interesting that the influences which cropped in silver objects here reflected Bermuda's trade relationships, and certainly showed the influence of major trading partners like New York, Boston, and to some extent London. That is why I like silver, because styles are transmitted very easily through it.'' So does the colonial silver expert have a large collection of her own? "My personal interest is academic,'' she replied. "I don't collect.'' Despite the shortness of her visit, Mrs. Sloane was confident that she had helped Alfrida Chappell and Nancy Valentine to pinpoint a goodly collection of locally-made silverware for inclusion in Made in Bermuda -- the Bermuda National Gallery's next exhibition.

Mrs. Chappell and Mrs. Valentine are members of the overall Made in Bermuda exhibition advisory committee, with special responsibility for silver. They are currently working on a definitive list, with photographs, of silversmith's marks.

Made in Bermuda -- the Bermuda National Gallery's next exhibition -- will run from September 23 to January 27 and include fine art, furniture, decorative pieces, plus details of unique Bermudian architecture and boats.

Explaining the philosophy behind the exhibition, BNG senior curator Marlee Robinson said: "We have no intention of making it definitive about anything.

We are simply trying to use it as a starting point to encourage exactly what Mrs. Sloane is doing, which is research.

"We want to make a beautiful show so that people are proud of what is in Bermuda, and maybe will get a little bit more education about what they own.'' Mrs. Robinson also expressed the hope the Gallery would "do a Bermuda antique road show, and encourage people to come in with things that they think were made in Bermuda, and have members of the committee look at them''.

"Maybe we can persuade Mrs. Sloane to come over too,'' she said, to enthusiastic nods from the Christie's specialist.

Photos by Tony Cordeiro Fascinating Finds: Visiting Christie's colonial silver expert, Jeanne Sloane (left), enjoys a happy moment with Alfreda Chappell and Rev. T. Alan W.

Garrity, rector of Christ Church, Warwick as they examine pieces in the church's silver collection.

Close inspection: Looking for the silversmith's mark is all in a day's work for Jeanne Sloane, who is head of the silver department at the famed Christie's auction house in New York.