'By hammer in hand, all arts do stand'
- The motto of the Hammermen Craft, trade guild
Before the introduction of mass produced pottery in the 18 century, pewter (an alloy of tin, lead and copper) was the most common substance used for the making of household utensils.
The once-common domestic, civic and church artefacts made of pewter are hard to find.
The Smith has an outstanding collection of domestic and church pewter, with good examples of the wooden table ware which preceeded it and the pottery which followed.
The Smith Collection of Pewter contains 360 pieces and a large collection of communion tokens and beggar’s badges
The Neish Collection of British Pewter
Alex Neish has sought to keep the best of British Pewter in the United Kingdom and identified the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum as the ideal home for his collection which includes many exquisite, rare pieces, such as a rosewater dish, made by Richard Weir of Edinburgh for King James IV’s Palace of Holyrood.
