Tin is a white metal and its color is somewhere between silver and aluminum. With age, oxidation with oxygen occurs and this tin oxide has a dull gray tint. Pure tin takes years to become tin oxide. This gray color is called patina. Tin is hardly toxic and is not absorbed by the body. As a result, it can store food and drink for a long time and the taste does not change either.

Shown is a vintage pewter soup tureen with lid and matching scalloped plateau. The edge of the plateau is raised. The soup tureen has 2 handles and stands on four curled legs. The lid has a pine-shaped handle. They have a clear baroque style. The inside and back of the tureen and back of the plateau have a silvery color. Terrine and plateau bottom are marked with the impressed marks “fecit VCM with cross of Malta, “Made in Portugal”, “Sans plomb, no lead”. They can be dated around 1950.

Condition: beautiful dull greyish exterior, silver-coloured interior and bottom with several small tin craquelures, used but in good condition.