The kettle has very thin walls made from sheet brass. The brass was ‘raised’ or hammered in a series of shaped dies of decreasing diameter. The base of the kettle was soldered on afterwards. The tradition of dragon-head spouts goes back 300 years.

Brass is an alloy or mixture of copper and zinc: 83% copper produces a golden lustre; 90% gives a reddish glow. Brass melts at 850ºC and can be cast into patterned moulds or into sheets which are hammered into shape.

The V&A’s brass collection covers a wide range of dates and styles – from medieval water jugs with lion-head spouts to sleek warming dishes of the early 20th century. The market for brass was large. It included mass-produced goods, lighting for middle-class houses and clocks for the aristocracy. Most of these items were not for display, but were functional. People used brass fireguards, soap containers and tobacco boxes in their homes. Brass candlesticks and holy-water buckets played their part in church services.

Before 1600, European brass manufacture flourished in Nuremberg, where councils protected local trade zealously. Venice was the centre of trade with Muslim countries to the east, whose decorative styles influenced Italian engravers. In England the industry developed slowly until 1700, when new foundries in Birmingham and Bristol rapidly expanded brass manufacture.