Zilveren sculptuur van twee vechtende mannen door Hancock tentoongesteld op de Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations van 1851 in Londen 1851

This silver sculpture of two fighting men by C.M. Ferrier & F. von Martens was exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. The sculpture's material, silver, is central to its effect. This precious metal has been worked with great skill to capture a dramatic scene. The intricate details suggest techniques such as chasing and engraving, requiring a mastery of tools and an understanding of silver's malleable yet resistant nature. But what did it mean to display this kind of skill at the Great Exhibition? This was an event intended to showcase the rise of industry, not the virtuosity of handcraft. By exhibiting this sculpture, Ferrier and von Martens were entering a fraught conversation about the value of labor and artistic skill in an age of increasing mechanization. Was this sculpture intended as a celebration of individual achievement, or a lament for a pre-industrial past? Appreciating such a work calls for us to look closely at materials, making, and social context.