The hoard very likely represents only a portion of the precious-metal wealth of the person, or people, who owned it; many common types of jewellery are missing, as are large tableware items such as those found in the Mildenhall Treasure.
Knives were still made of the best steel, but their presence on the London table was as a mark of wealth — metal in the service of display rather than utility.
There is no getting round the clear implication of two poems of Solon (early 6th century) that, first, gold and silver were familiar metals and, second, wealth was now in the hands of arrivistes.
University of Southampton archaeologist Dr Jo Sofaer, says: "It is well understood that the Bronze Age saw huge advances in techniques to produce clothes, pottery and metal objects, but the wealth of creativity employed when making these goods is little recognised or researched.
The carving of totem poles reached its peak in the early and middle 19th century, when the introduction of good metal tools and the wealth gained from the fur trade made it possible for many chiefs to afford these displays.
From the standpoint of tools, the potter's kiln and art were necessary steps to metals, for a modification of the kiln probably provided the high temperatures and equipment needed for metalworking, first for melting native metals and later for the smelting process that gave rise to a wealth of metals, several of which proved to be superior materials for tools.
The mercantile theory that precious metals constitute the true wealth, though it had attracted advocates for a long time, now came into full vogue and continued to dominate economic thinking.
SINGAPORE — They may have grown rich trading in tin, but it was a different metal that showed off that wealth: gold.
Forests of huge metal pylons carry Labrador's wealth of hydro-electric power south.
Images shared by Malaysian authorities showed a wealth of scrap metal on board.
The scarcity of precious metals points to lack of wealth as prime cause of the artistic backwardness of these regions.
