Mould, dated 1766, and plate

Description

According to the statutes of the pewterers' guild, only holders of the title of master were allowed to run an independent pewterer's workshop. A Basle statute of 1563 laid down that a master's examination should require the production of moulds for a pitcher, a platter and a bottle, the casting of these from the moulds, and the presentation of the moulds. This regulation remained in force until the C18. Moulds might be produced of clay, plaster, stone, bronze and other metals. Here a bronze mould from the workshop of the Basle master Johann Jakob Scholer (Basle 1739-1815 Basle) is shown with its corresponding pewter plate with a typically Baroque profile.