December, 1921 
25 
A tea urn of pewter. Made 
in England about 182S and 
bearing the mark of James 
Dixon & Son 
This antique cold water urn 
is set on a red marble base 
From the collection of M 
Kunckler of Geneva 
served the prosperous 
(Left) An antique pew¬ 
ter sugar sifter covered 
with gold plate. From 
the collection of L. O. 
Martel, Geneva, Switz¬ 
erland 
M. Moriggi at his wheel. 
Behind him are shelves 
lined with examples of 
his work in pewter. 
Those on the right are 
“measures” 
countries 
bourgeoisie in the place of silver 
for generations; silver, then hand¬ 
made, was the property of kings 
and the nobility.” 
He called our attention to the 
simplicity of the Swiss pewter say¬ 
ing “It has always been simple with us, like 
the life of our people”. 
It is true that the ancient Greeks and Ro¬ 
mans used a kind of pewter, an alloy of tin 
with brass. Pewter such as we are familiar 
with came into general use for household 
purposes in the Middle Ages, and during the 
14th and 15th Centuries France led the pewter 
world. It was the famous Paris Guild of 
Pewterers that set the standards and laid 
down the laws for the Guilds of England, 
beginning with that of London, then York and 
Edinburgh. France produced the giant ar- 
tist-pewterer of all pewter periods—Frangois 
Briot (16th Century). He was employed as 
“die sinker” and stone-cutter by a silversmith, 
and his moulds were marvels of perfection. 
All the guilds had 
high standards of quality 
and workmanship and en¬ 
forced them with spe¬ 
cially appointed wardens 
who inspected the pewter 
output of the Guild before 
it could be offered for 
sale. In the London Pew- 
terer’s Guild no more 
than 20% of lead was al¬ 
lowed to be used. English 
pewter ranked very high 
for quality, perhaps first. 
The rose stamped on it 
once indicated the London 
Guild, but later came to 
mean “made in England.” 
In different countries, 
to give pewter the desired 
consistency or effect, the 
pure tin was alloyed with 
copper or bronze, bismuth, 
riggi of Vevey, Lake Geneva. 
The present Moriggi (his family 
originated in the Italian part of 
Switzerland) is the fourth genera¬ 
tion to carry on the classic tradi¬ 
tions of his art. He adds his “mark” to those 
of his forebears on each piece he makes and, as 
is still required by the government, adds also 
the hall mark to indicate the quality of the 
pewter. On Swiss pewter a large F indicates 
fine and a large C common quality. 
The continental specimens we show are of 
special interest because many were chosen with 
the enthusiastic aid of M. Moriggi. Most 
were at one time in the Moriggi collection, but 
some have since been sold to other collectors. 
Moriggi is one of the leading experts in old 
pewter, and constantly called upon to give an 
opinion for museums and private collectors. 
His confreres insist he has that extra sense— 
perhaps it is “inherited knowledge”—belong¬ 
ing to some with a special flair for certain 
lines of art and not to be achieved by mere 
study or traffic in the art. 
The master pewterer has 
no assistants, his ancestors 
had none, except as they 
'' ^ 
(Left) A cof- 
f e e set in 
Britannia 
ware. From 
Reed & 
Barton 
(Above) A 
pair of pew¬ 
ter urns of 
early 19th 
Century En¬ 
glish make 
session until the 16th 
Century. It has with us, 
as with the people of other 
Modern pewter is generally machine-made and is known as Britannia ware. It is 
largely tin with a small percentage of antimony and copper. These pieces from a 
dinner set are modern reproductions of old designs. From Reed & Barton 
iron, antimony, and occa¬ 
sionally silver. In oriental 
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