glossary for letters L to P
All antique pewter articles are collectables and a great alternative for home decorating, while being the best match for your home furniture and home design.
Therefore, whether you are a pewter collector or just interested in purchasing some pewter articles, it is important to know the meaning of the terms used.
The pewter alloy was used since a long time ago for the creation of useful antique pewter articles. Our glossary contains terms used in accordance with the American and British pewter. The definitions presented below are a great beginning towards understanding the pewter language:
- Laver – Term used to describe a kind of church flagon, either lidded or un-lidded. However, laver was commonly used in Scotland with the purpose of carrying wine or water during baptism.
- Lathe - Machine tool used to rotate the work on the horizontal axis so that it is easily shaped and but using a fixed tool. The lathe machine is a traditional tool used to create antique pewter articles which surprisingly is used today as well.
- Lead – A type of metal used to create the pewter alloy along with tin. Lead was highly used in the past, but in contact with food and beverages the lead from the pewter alloy had sometimes dangerous effects. Therefore, today most pewter alloys are lead free.
- Mark – Traces left by the pewterer: hallmarks, secondary marks, touch marks, verification marks, maker’s marks.
- Measure – Term used to describe a standard container regulated by the government inspector as a result of the verification process through which the capacity of the container was checked. Thus, the verification marks were place on the measures.
- Mug – A handled container without lid, featuring various forms and capacities. The mugs were commonly used in taverns for serving purposes. People used the mugs to serve spirits, ale or beer, but also at home for other such liquids. One of the main features of mugs is their wider bottom and thinner top.
- Noggin – Irish measure for the quarter of a pint.
- Oxidation – A process which lead to corrosion. Oxidation happens in time and can be influenced by various external factors. There are various levels of oxidation as there are various types of corrosion which can affect an antique pewter item.
- PCCA – Term used as an abbreviation for the Pewter Collectors’ Club of America.
- Pewter – An alloy which consists mainly of tin, but also other various metals like antinomy, lead, copper, bismuth. In order to make the pewter alloy stronger or harder, various amounts of metal are used. Depending on the antique pewter item to be produced, the chemical specifications may vary.
- Plate – Term used to describe a piece of flatware or sadware. Based on its origin, plates can be either antique pewter items or feature modern designs.
- Porringer – A small sized bowl usually featuring one flat handle on the side. However, there are some other types of porringers like the Pennsylvania porringer which features a plain handle cast. Most porringers are collected and used for their decorative purpose. There are mainly six types of antique pewter porringers: Solid (Tab), Crown, Old Flowered, Old English, Hearts, Crescent.
At Pewters.net you will always find relevant, useful and reliable information regarding all pewter topics. Here, you have the possibility to browse through a wide variety of pewter articles and in the same time find the right piece of information you need.
No wonder Pewters.net is the best source of pewter information available!