Pewter

Since the Roman period, pewter has been used to create a number of household objects, majority tableware. Although present in the 5th century AD, the metal was at its height during the 17th and 18th century AD. The metal itself is an alloy comprised of tin along with small amounts of copper, bismuth and even occasionally silver. Originally, during the ancient times, it would have contained lead as well however, to avoid lead poisoning, it was removed. As it is a soft metal, pewter can be easily manipulated into desired shapes along with easily being engraved for decorations. Usually pewter items were cast and then hammered into the appropriate shape. The metal was predominantly used for practical purposes although it would have also been used for decoration purposes if the precious metal was too expensive.