Mace
1889 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Electrotypes were made using technology patented by Elkington and Company Birmingham in the 1840s. Metal could be transferred from one object to another when immersed in a vat containing potassium cynanide and electrically charged. Electrotypes are relics of 19th century industrialisation. The process of electroplating and electrotyping favoured companies that could afford large factories and expansive technology. The power of the machinery at the disposal of the silver indusry allowed modern mass production to develop. Hundreds of electrotypes could be created at once in the vats.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | An electrotype copy of the original, using the process of electroforming, the gilded surface applied by electrolytic means. |
| Brief description | Electrotype copy; the original of silver-gilt, London hallmarks for 1698-9, mark of Benjamin Pyne. |
| Physical description | The original, of silver gilt, belongs to the borough of Thornbury, Gloucestershire. The pommel, and boss are repoussé with floral ornament; the plain shaft is surmounted with brackets. The head, with winged demi-figures, the crowned rose, thistle, harp, and fleur-de-lis, is crested by an Earl's coronet. On a plate, the arms of the Earl of Wiltshire are engraved; London hallmarks for 1698-9, mark of Benjamin Pyne. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | Bought from Elkington & Co. in 1889 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Electrotypes were made using technology patented by Elkington and Company Birmingham in the 1840s. Metal could be transferred from one object to another when immersed in a vat containing potassium cynanide and electrically charged. Electrotypes are relics of 19th century industrialisation. The process of electroplating and electrotyping favoured companies that could afford large factories and expansive technology. The power of the machinery at the disposal of the silver indusry allowed modern mass production to develop. Hundreds of electrotypes could be created at once in the vats. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | REPRO.1889A-18 |
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| Record created | September 22, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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