For the love of the soft and dark pewter

 

For the love of pewter

I love pieces made of pewter and I am never tired of admiring the delicate work of the Norwegian pewter manufacturers. There are so many beautiful works out there, extremely well made and, naturally, full of references and hiding meanings behind each of them. Pewter pieces were, are, everywhere. Every Norwegian home accumulated several types of pewter pieces, for diverse uses, both kitchen and table utensils, jewelry and general home decor items. As time changes things, slowly the power of pewter started to fade, industries closed, artistry lost and meanings forgotten. Not really. 

Sure, maybe not as many Norwegians admire pieces made in the soft dark grey metal the anymore, not the way they used too. But pewter is still appreciated for the unique way it was used as a vehicle for artists to express the truth of their time.

The "great houses of Norwegian pewter", the largest manufacturers, slowly disappeared but their pieces are everywhere to be found. The closing doors of the pewter factories are a sign of times, an old custom is about to change, the uses and abuses of pewter by Norwegian society may be over. 

I understand, some people are exhausted of pewter, they reflect a time of poverty and limited resources and I get that our society has shown signs of a pewter hang over, but I can´t stop myself from repeating it: we will see a pewter come back one of these days and, when it happens, let´s all hope the beautiful Norwegian pieces were not all melted away...  

I keep mine safe and sound.

Stunning Pewter - Måstad, Norway

A trio of candleholders, design of John Gulbrandsrød for Måstad Pewter, Norway.

The beautiful details of the design of John Gulbrandsrød for Måstad Pewter, Norway.

The beautiful details of the design of John Gulbrandsrød for Måstad Pewter, Norway.

The beautiful details of the design of John Gulbrandsrød for Måstad Pewter, Norway.

Stunning Pewter

I love pewter, the dark soft grey metal that is more than ever out of fashion. I simply adore the old fashion designs and I think the work of old pewter manufactures are pieces of art. Naturally, some of them are better than others, but something in that dark mix of metals makes them all very beautiful.

For the last hundred years, Norwegians have been making some of the most amazing works of pewter out there, all sorts of items, for decor and for dining and serving food. I have my heart broken every time I go to markets or garage sales where I cross with someone hunting pewter items to melt. They wait for the last hour before closing time, when the "bag sale" starts, to jump over the metal tables, filled with brass, copper and pewter and simply grab everything on their way, throwing everything into plastic bags, without looking, without care. They don´t cate if the pieces get smashed, or scratched because they will melt the metal. They ignore completely all the art in those pieces, they are metal hunters, they are looking for cheap metal. Oh yeah, pewter items are cheap, because Norwegians seem to be totally fed up with traditional designs associated with pewter. For that reason garage sales and second hand markets are full of pewter pieces, sold for very cheap prices. So sad...

This week I have uploaded some pewter candleholders to the store and I have more pewter in stock to upload. The trio of candleholders on the picture above are from Norwegian manufacturer Måstad designed by John Gulbrandsrød for Måstad Pewter, Norway.

More beautiful listings in the store...

This stunning bowl is now sold, but we still have its pictures left to love...

These listings have left the building

The store is quite new and gets new stuff everyday. Even so,  every time a beautiful piece is sold I fear I will miss its presence on my shelves. These are some of the beautiful listings which have left the building... To visit our lovely little Etsy store click here.