Plate
circa 1700 (Date manufactured/created)
Pewter
This plate was made in England. Pewter was a symbol of gentility in colonial homes because it showed that the owner could afford more than simple woodenware. Pewter is a metal alloy composed mainly of tin. Varying percentages of other metals like copper, antimony, bismuth, and lead can be added to give strength and durability to the tin. Sometimes, especially in American pewter, the lead content was fairly high, and people could get lead poisoning from ingesting food and drink that had absorbed lead from tableware.
HW1970.004