Links

Mission Statement

About Pewter

Site Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The Pewter Gallery

Home        Search            Cart

Contact       FAQ
 

About Pewter
Pewter is an alloy made primarily of tin, with small amounts of antimony and other metals to add hardness and other desirable features.  In the past, pewter was made with large amounts of lead since lead was cheaper to obtain than tin.  This was particularly true in Roman times when the use of pewter was extremely popular and used in place of silver.  Lead was readily available in the Mediterranean, but tin had to be imported from England.  Leaded pewter is darker and heavier.  When it was discovered that leaded pewter was allowing small amounts of lead to leech into food and drink and was contributing to lead poisoning problems, manufacturers of pewter products switched to a variety of pewter known as Britannia pewter.  Britannia pewter gets its name from the area where tin was more available.  Britannia pewter contains no lead.  It is completely safe to eat from and drink out of.  Britannia pewter, because it contains no lead, is lighter in weight and in colour.  Leaded pewter is still a concern for antique pewter objects, but all modern pewter that comes in contact with food is the lead-free variety.  Britannia pewter is not the only variety of lead-free pewter currently available, and it is still possible to find sculptures made from the traditional leaded pewter.

All of the pewter products carried by the Pewter Gallery are made from lead-free pewter (unless otherwise noted), and are safe for food consumption. Pewter comes in several types of finishes: a satin finish: a flat, unpolished finish like pounded metal; and a brightly polished finish.  Some products are available in more than one finish.  Please check the description of the item, and the images to determine which finish is available on which products.  While pewter resists tarnishing much better than silver, we do sell a pewter wash for occasional cleaning.  If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact us at info@pewtergallery.com. 

To read more about pewter, visit Wikipedia.com (this link will open a new window).

 
 

 
This page last modified: 2004 June 30
Copyright 2004 by The Pewter Gallery/Betsy McCall
For information on this website or problems with links, please contact the Webmistress, .
This site is best viewed with Internet Explorer 5+ and the Lucida Calligraphy font.