This research project offers new knowledge in the field of artificial patination and extends the application of colour to metals that have previously not been exploited for their colouring properties, specifically pewter and its main constituent, tin. The investigation defines, refines and applies new and evolved processes and techniques that provide novel opportunities for both craft and industry through the development of new products, particularly jewellery and tableware items. The thesis details the actions taken to substantiate the hypothesis that pewter and tin may be coloured by chemical means. This includes the interpretation, exploitation and creative application of developed processes to the design and production of new works. It also discusses the research method applied and the rationales that have informed decision making. The research project is reviewed in separate chapters discussing each phase of the investigation. These phases are:  The selection, testing and analysis of chemical colouring processes within the workshop and laboratory.  Investigation into working properties of the coloured material and surface pattern development.  The creative application of outcomes from the above two phases to new works.  Evaluation of the research outcomes in relation to creative practice and their potential for wider commercial application The chemical exploration and design development phases of the research have been conducted in association with the International Tin Research Institute (ITRI Ltd) and the manufacturing industry, which has confirmed the validity of results. The model of collaboration adopted and associated outcomes are also discussed. Finally, the thesis considers the impact of the research outcomes on the material, creative practice and implications for further investigation including the potential for wider commercial application of the patination procedures developed.

My mission is to bring attention to the unusual, undefined, and fluid connections we have to objects through various avenues of experience. Things, objects, and devices have shaped our culture, environment, and personal philosophies. We live, grow, learn, and mourn with objects. We worship, sympathize, and relate to objects. But what I am most interested in is a human tendency to retreat to objects, allowing them to mediate experiences of friendship and intimacy between people. During my graduate studies, I have been evaluating my personal and professional connections with others in order to understand how technology such as smart phones and computers have become so intertwined in these relationships.

Metal artifacts from the pirate Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge (1718), were studied and a preliminary assessment of the corrosion products that have formed on them is presented. Artifacts made of iron, lead, tin, copper, mercury, gold, and silver were recovered from the site with only those made of precious metals displaying no corrosion products. Detailed analysis was conducted of the surfaces of pewter artifacts, made from a tin-rich alloy, revealing corrosion products composed of romarchite (SnO), hydroromarchite (5SnO.2H2O), and abhurite (Sn3O(OH)2Cl2). For comparison, corroded pewter artifacts originating from five other archaeological sites submerged in seawater, dating to between ~1550 and 1733, were analyzed. All of these samples also exhibit abhurite, romarchite, and hydroromarchite, however, some of the artifacts also display cassiterite (SnO2). Textural analysis indicates that abhurite is the first alteration product to arise, followed by romarchite and hydroromarchite and, in some cases, ending with the formation of cassiterite. The absence of cassiterite on many samples demonstrates that, while appearing to be stable under the conditions that were present, the phase has not yet had time to form. Because of the very limited stability field for romarchite, its presence on these artifacts seems to be the result of a kinetic effect, while its universal appearance suggests that it is a required step in the oxidation of pure tin to the final most stable phase of cassiterite. Knowledge of the stability of pewter corrosion products and their effectiveness as agents of passivation can provide insight into the processes of tin corrosion. / Master of Science

Les trésors de vaisselle précieuse de l’Antiquité tardive dans les îles britanniques présentent un corpus d’étude digne d’intérêt à la fois grâce à leur nombre important, à la variété des objets réunis et aux métaux employés. En effet, de nombreux ensembles de vaisselle précieuse ont été ensevelis entre le 3ème et le 5ème siècle en Bretagne romaine, tandis que d’autres dépôts issus de butins de pillage ont été trouvés en dehors des frontières de l’Empire (Écosse et Irlande actuelles). En outre, alors que les grands services d’argenterie y tiennent une part assez exceptionnelle, cette province se démarque du reste de l’Empire par une grande richesse en dépôts constitués de petits objets variés en métaux précieux (or et argent). Enfin, cette région voit se développer de façon quasiment exclusive, dès le 3ème siècle, l’industrie de l’"étain" (un alliage d’étain et de plomb dans des proportions variables), qui se prête bien à l’imitation des plats d’argenterie, donnant ainsi la possibilité à des familles moins aisées de posséder des services entiers de vaisselle de table.À partir de la constitution d’un catalogue de 229 dépôts et objets isolés, cette étude s’ouvre par une analyse typologique de la vaisselle d’argent et d’étain, comprenant l’observation des formes, des éléments décoratifs et de l’iconographie. S’ensuit l’analyse comparative du contenu de ces ensembles et de leur contexte d’enfouissement, menant à l’élaboration de tableaux typologiques et de cartes de répartition géographique. Des différenciations sont ainsi mises en évidence et permettent de tenter une interprétation de ces dépôts, témoins matériels d’une époque bouleversée. / Several hoards of precious vessels come from Roman Britain, some of them were found outside imperial boundaries (Scotland and Ireland) and represent loots of pirates. They were deposited during all Roman period, especially during the 3rd to the 5th centuries. Though large silver treasures are very rare there, this region is very rich in hoards of small precious objects of gold and silver (spoons, strainers, toothpicks, jewellery, coins, ingots…). In the meantime pewter industry flourishes from the 3rd century and vessels of this matter are produced in great quantity and diffused through the entire island, imitating silver vessels of the same period. It is often called the "poor man's silver".Through a descriptive catalogue of 229 Roman pewter and silver vessels hoards and single finds from the British Isles, this study starts with a typological and stylistic analysis of precious vessels and their imitations (forms, decoration, and techniques). It continues with a classification of all treasures and hoards that contain silver or pewter vessels, through a comparison of what they contained and where they were buried. Some of them could be of votive origin, inherited from Bronze Age.