Why Use Pewter?
I absolutely love pewter so I decided to share things about it - some people think of Pewter as a cheap substitute for Sterling Silver but it is not. Pewter is a wonderful functional metal with its own merits and qualities for both decorative and practical uses. It has a long history & was probably first made in the Bronze Age (between 2000 and 500 BC).
Europeans became very fond of pewter wares and by the 12th century, pewter was commonly used by the wealthy, where it was found on the tables of castle halls and in the houses of rich merchants and churchmen. Remember those Medieval Feasts served on pewter? Pewter historically was an alloy of tin and lead that became popular as kitchenware such as plates, mugs, and utensils. By the mid-1700s the health hazards and tarnishing drawbacks of leaded pewter helped popularize a non-leaded form of pewter, which often was tin, antimony, & copper. Pewter was the chief tableware until the making of china & glass came into existence. By about 1850, pewter was rarely used for everyday tableware as the mass production of glassware replaced the daily use of pewter. It was used mainly for decorative use at that time – candlesticks, etc.
Pewter is generally a name used to denote a number of alloys of various metals in diverse proportions, but always had tin as the chief constituent. Modern pewter often contains about 92% tin and added to this are small amounts of antimony, copper to give additional strength as tin is a relatively soft metal with a silvery white color. Pewter is a very malleable, so can be carved with hand tools, and takes good impressions from punches or presses. Because of this inherent softness and malleability, however, pewter cannot be used to make tools itself. Some types of pewter pieces, such as candlesticks, would be turned on a metal lathe. Pieces are sometimes referred to as "holloware."
In the 20th century pewter items enjoyed an enormous revival, as consumers and craftsmen rediscovered the glowing beauty and practical function of fine pewter. Physically, pewter is a bright, shiny metal that is similar in appearance to silver. Like silver, pewter appearance changes over time but unlike silver, it does not require the upkeep of tedious polishing. I love mixing and matching silver and pewter on the same table as they can compliment each other.
The Pewter that I am offering is created by a sand casting process and I have read the desription of how sand casting occurs – very interesting! It begins with the creation of a new piece sculptured in clay & then casted into plaster. In a Mexican workshop, artisans make a copy from which a single mold is made. This mold fits between two large boxes that get filled with fine sand that holds a precise shape when pounded tight. Once sand envelops the design, the artisans lift off the top box and pull out the mold, leaving a perfect empty space. Tubes are then pushed through the sand to make flow channels to the design cavity. One channel is for the molten metal; the others allow excess metal out. When the boxes get joined tight again, the sand around the design cavity mustn’t budge even microscopically. Once the molten aluminum reaches 1300 degrees, the artisans pour it down a flow channel until the cavity’s full. They stand on the box to keep it tight; the metal cools to a solid in 10 minutes. When the box is opened, sand spills all over. The sand is shoveled up and reused, & the process starts again. Polishers go to work on the new piece with grinding and buffing wheels to exact a perfect high gloss. With the sand-cast method, there are impurities, which sets it apart from other mass-produced machine-made pewter.
Please look at the beautiful sand cast Pewter serving pieces that I currently have listed – these are both functional and beautiful and look wonderful in casual and elegant dining.
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