The Gilberts' earliest acquisitions of silver in the late 1960s were made with essentially decorative purposes in mind. By about 1970, however, the Gilberts had begun to develop a serious interest in the craftsmanship of the finest goldsmith's work. Typical of their first purchases are the replica of the Warwick Vase, a pair of entree dishes from the Norfolk Service, and the magnificent candelabrum centerpiece, all by the English goldsmith Paul Storr (1771 - 1844). These and other early acquisitions established the criteria that guided the formation of the collection through the state documents by William Ezelle Jones 1977 catalogue, the works being generally of outstanding quality and possessing, in Arthur Gilbert's express, a monumentality that reflected the grandeur of the style of life for which they were made. That this has continued to be a major element in the collection is illustrated by certain subsequent acquisitions, such as the astonishing Russian gates, the Lafayette vase, and the Indian howdah.