Small 19th century copper pitcher

This is a very interesting piece, hand beaten and shaped and featuring a base joined to the upper body by use of dovetails – or perhaps more correctly a cramp seam - a style of manufacture popular on the continent and in Britain. This can faintly be made out below the belly of the pitcher, as a the zig-zag line running around the base and up the sides of an antique copper pot. Both parts of the pitcher are overlapped and then hammered until the seam is flat and the copper melded together. Brazing is then done – often with brass, to fill any gaps in the join. Such treatment will ensure firm joints that will last for centuries The line marks where the coppersmith joined pieces of copper together to form the pot, something like how a dressmaker sews pieces of cloth together to make a dress. Like a good tailor, a skilled coppersmith makes nice flat seams that are tight and resilient and that can survive for centuries – as indeed has this pitcher (see image 8). The pitcher stands 110mm tall with a diameter of approximately 117mm in maximum diameter. While all the construction etc is of interest, This pitcher has a truly excellent patina as well as evidence of previous tinning of the interior (see image 9). Those sharp of eye will also have spotted that the handle has been purposely split to form the anchor point of the handle at the top (see images 6,7 &10) which was then finished with hand made rivets. A display piece that shows the complexity of construction beneath the simplicity of it's look.

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