CHARM OF PEWTER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 877, 22 January 1930, Page 7

CHARM OF PEWTER

Its History Through The Ages PARLOUR TO POTHOUSE ! Probably* there are more pitfalls in the way of the pewter collector than l in any other branch of collecting. The metal is easily* made, and genuine, fine old pieces are so rare and so sought after that they are worth the attention of the clever “antique manufacturer.*’ Pewter —“peautre** it was called in its earlier day’s—was round about the sixteenth century* a luxury for the wealthy, as silver and gold plate was later. A complete “garnish.** consisting of a dozen each of platters, dishes, and saucers, was a set worthy* of any merchant prince's sideboard. Then the metal entered | into a period of decline that ended in | the pothouse, and in the homes of the ; very poorest folk. Today it has come into its own again by virture of its rarity and the beautiful, soft, silvery light peculiar to the metal. Pewter of the best period is distinguished, too. by austere simplicity of design. When pewterers began to ape the craftsmanship of the silversmiths and goldsmiths, pewter was in its most debased period, and very near extinction. It had. in fact, become vulgar. Although pewter was made all over the Continent, England was famous everywhere for the fineness of its pewter as long ago as the fourteenth century. Lead and tin in certain proportions, the formula was kept a secret, was known as “the vessel of tyu for ever.” Unfortunately, even at its best, pewter was easily damaged and broken. For that reason good pewter of that period, from the fourteenth century up to the close of the seventeenth century, is distinctly rare. Eighteenth century pewter is more easily obtainable, as more w*as being made, for by that time it had ceased to be a luxury. In New Zealand pewter is extremely rare, and those who have been able to collect a few pieces treasure them as something really precious. Pewterers were divided into three classes. Sadware men worked the metal by hammering, and used only T the finest pewter; hollow ware men cast the metal, and used the ordinary fine alloy; and triflers, who worked only upon small articles. Among the prizes the pewter collector looks out for are spoons of early date, large dishes, cruets, and similar articles. They received hard usage which not many survived.