Pewter known as "trifling metal" or "trifle", was used for holloware and is made up of fine metal with approximately 4% lead. The last type of pewter, known as "lay" or "ley" metal, was used for items that were not in contact with food or drink. It consisted of tin with 15% lead. These three alloys were used with little variation until the 20th century. Older pewters with higher lead content are heavier, tarnish faster, and oxidation gives them a darker silver-gray color. Pewters containing lead are no longer used in items that will come in contact with the human body
Ancient Greek funerary vases carrying, and another for pouring. These could also be made out of bronze. A well preserved example is the Regina Vasorum from Southern Italy. The Regina Vasorum has black lacquer with gilding. Demeter, Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Dionysus can all be seen on this hydria. Geometric patterns adorn many vases between 900-700 B.C. These patterns include meanders, right-angles, and swastikas. Most vases from this period were found in cemeteries, thus becoming our primary source of knowledge during the Geometric period. In the 600's B.C., Athens moved away from abstract geometric patterns, and toward more natural art, influenced by the Near