The collection of British silver at the Ashmolean Museum has all, with one notable exception (a tankard of 1574 given in 1790) been acquired since shortly after World War 2. In relation to other major museum collections, therefore, it is young. Yet amounting to over 450 objects, many of which are of spectacular quality and rarity, it is one of the most important collections of its kind in the world, equalled only for the 'golden age' of English silver by the V&A in London and the museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The collection has never been fully catalogued and this will be the first time a complete catalogue has been published.