Material Matters: BRASS
Few materials combine sturdiness and malleability, attractiveness and variety, not to mention affordability, quite so well as brass. From candlesticks to telescopes, swans to wheatsheaves, antique brass comes in a tempting variety of shapes and uses, appealing to collectors of decorative antiques as well as those with specialist interests, such as scientific instruments.
A hard-wearing alloy of copper and zinc, brass has been with us for a very long time. The earliest brass form, dating back to Neolithic times, was calamine brass, which consisted of a zinc ore (rock with zinc extracts). Later, the Romans used a more refined zinc when making brass, which was worked into vessels, dress armour and jewellery.
As the Roman Empire declined, so did brass production, which only regained popularity around the ninth century. From this time, and
