🧵 View Thread
🧵 Thread (12 tweets)
been meaning to do a thread exploring Pewter, the metal alloy. It is traditionally composed of... 85–99% tin ~5-10% antimony 2% copper bismuth and sometimes silver you might remember it from Harry Potter: 1st-year students are supposed to use pewter cauldrons for potions https://t.co/X5TbK1H8Cj
You may have seen me wearing this - I bought it from this older man in SF who spent his youth travelling through Morocco, Egypt, etc. We talked for 20 mins about art & passion & love. He’s one of me. Talismans are simply objects with stories that are meaningful to you https://t.co/3xWT30P5uD
I like to start investigating things by exploring the history of the meaning of the word – with pewter, we know that it's old, and it's of Latin-origin, but the precise origin is uncertain/unclear. Slight bummer, but we'll keep going https://t.co/Qr0CpTCXDy
the Wikipedia page is fairly short, and there are several other sites that are much more comprehensive here's a fun detail – pewter is sometimes used for 4th place trophies?? that's... memorable https://t.co/37PL4BdFv7
some useful framing from Belmont Metals: - pewter is affordable, versatile and durable - "perhaps since the alloy is too soft for tools or weapons, there was no real Pewter Age as there was a Bronze and Iron Age" https://t.co/iIEMWfB0Mi https://t.co/tlwFGzwAkl
It's sometimes called the "poor man's silver", but that's unimaginative framing, IMO. It's really a different metal altogether with different characteristics, a different vibe. See my necklace at the start of the thread – it would feel totally different if it were made of silver https://t.co/DZV6Dkw6Xt
"The centre of the Italian pewter industry, Venice, imported its tin from the Middle East until the 15th Century, when cheaper sources of tin became available from Cornwall, which supplied the region until modern times." https://t.co/AQbPQjzst3 https://t.co/IWymwjUjPT
some cool pieces from Cosi Tabellini – you can buy these at https://t.co/a3XiR98h2S https://t.co/2cE9YzTgjU
oh, turns out these folks also make pewter tableware for the movies! See, this is why I love investigating things. There are always surprising and fascinating connections! I appreciate how proud they are of their work https://t.co/vGgOSolRnf https://t.co/5SiUeduJhQ
saw their address on their site and decided to look them up classy building! of course. ~italian design~, been meaning to do a thread about *that*. it's in Brescia, between Milan and Verona there is so much stuff in the world https://t.co/0hXSfyYZlv
The Crafted Cup Company makes and sells pewter tankards out of Michigan, USA. These look pretty baller, tbh. Here's a pic from their Instagram of the craftsmen and women who make these. https://t.co/XTx8S5cOPm https://t.co/NObywEgDt7
just clicking around Pinterest a bit found https://t.co/LxOkM6rSjW which sells "viking handmade jewelry" https://t.co/D1GITad76A
Some cool things from Royal Selangor, Malaysia https://t.co/6E12S0eBqx https://t.co/cLPGDuEaTm
