Lead obtained from the smelting of coarsely powdered galena, "Schliegwerkeblei"
- Made:
- before 1889
Lead obtained from the smelting of coarsely powdered galena, "Schliegwerkeblei"
Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide, an ore of lead, as well as a source of silver. This is a German example of the mineral once it has been smelted into lead. Galena must be ground into a powder, ‘Schlieg’ in German, before it can be smelted. Lead has a low melting point for a metal, which means it can be easily melted in a wood fire. There is evidence of lead smelting going back thousands of years.
Details
- Category:
- Metallurgy
- Object Number:
- 1889-164/1600
- type:
- specimen
- credit:
- John Percy Collection