A brief introduction to the history of antique pewter
Pewter has been in use since Roman times. In the fifteenth century, the medieval pewterers of London received a Royal Charter to incorporate the Worshipful Company of Pewterers. From that time onwards, the number of domestic and ecclesiastical items made in pewter steadily increased. In the home, they were displayed prominently on the oak furnishings. By the late sixteenth century, Harrison in his ‘Description of England’ noted that in the houses of merchants there were ’costly cupboards of plate’ on display, and ‘…even the inferior artificers and manie farmers …also garnish their cupboards with plate’. With increasing wealth during the seventeenth century, the output of pewter increased dramatically, reaching its heyday after the Restoration in 1660. For the next forty years, virtually everything that was made in silver was also being made by pewterers, who very often copied the styles developed by the silversmiths.
In the eighteenth century, the domestic use of pewter was increasingly challenged by the mass manufacture of porcelain, and the growth of the Staffordshire potteries. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, pewter manufacture had declined to the stage where it was essentially only being used for communion plate and for tavern mugs and measures.
From an early date, the quality of pewterwares was strictly regulated by the Worshipful Company in London, and by similar trade guilds in other English and Scottish towns. Each pewterer was required to strike his own personal mark or ‘touch’ on the wares that he made. In addition, some pewterers struck pseudo-hallmarks in emulation of silver hallmarks. Most touchmarks have now been identified, and this helps in dating antique pewter.
Pewter is an alloy based upon tin, to which was added small quantities of copper, lead and antimony. It had a relatively low melting point and was readily cast in large bronze moulds, before being finished on a treadle lathe. Since it is a soft metal, pewter objects often became deformed or damaged during everyday use. These could be returned to the pewterer to be melted down and re-made. This recycling accounts for the scarcity today of a lot of early pewter.
Immediately after manufacture, the metal was highly burnished and resembled silver. In daily use, it was scoured to keep the surface clean and bright. If it is not polished, the metal slowly oxidises (or tarnishes), and after 50-100 years attains a medium grey colour that is often referred to as ‘pewter coloured’. However, the oxidation process is continuous, and grey coloured pewter will ultimately develop a black, often corroded surface. However, the unsightly oxide can be removed and the surface brought back to the appearance it had when in daily use. So the antique pewter that we see today may have a bright but mellow surface if it has been polished in recent times, or can be anything from grey to black. Usually you will see the dark oxide on the backs of plates, inside and beneath hollowware, and in places that are not readily accessible to polishing.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when pewter items were in everyday use they were displayed on oak, where as now, they complement the simple intrinsic beauty of this early furniture.