Pewter of the Bronze Age in the Near East. The earliest piece of pewter found is from an Egyptian tomb from 1450 BC. The constituents of pewter were first controlled in the 12th century by town guilds in France. By the 15th century, the Worshipful Company of Pewterers controlled pewter constituents in England. This company originally had two grades of pewter, but in the 16th century a third grade was added. The first type, known as "fine metal", was used for tableware. It consisted of tin with as much copper as it could absorb, which is about 1%. The second type,
Square Mouthed Vases culture Square Mouthed Vases culture The Square Mouthed Vases culture (Italian: "cultura dei vasi a bocca quadrata") is a culture of the Middle Neolithic period, widespread in northern Italy during the fifth millennium BC. The name comes from the characteristic type of vessel, which has a square mouthpiece instead of circular. The culture is divided into three different time periods, depending on the style of the pottery decoration: the oldest is known as the Finale-Quinziano and shows a decoration of small incisions and graffiti; the middle period or Rivoli-Chiozza is characterized by meander and spiral decorations; while the most recent phase,