Latten
Encyclopedia
The term Latten refers loosely to copper
alloy
s, much like brass
, employed in the Middle Ages
and through to the late 18th and early 19th centuries, for items such as decorative effect on borders, rivets or other details of metalwork (particularly armour
), livery
and pilgrim badge
s and for funerary effigies. It was commonly formed in thin sheets and used to make church utensils. Brass of this period is made through the calamine brass
process, from copper and zinc ore. Later brass was made with zinc metal from Champion
's smelting process and is not generally referred to as latten. This calamine brass was generally manufactured as hammered sheet or "battery brass" (hammered by a "battery" of water-powered hammers) and cast brass was rare.
"Latten" also refers to a type of tin plating on iron (or possibly some other base metal), which is known as white latten; and black latten refers to laten-brass, which is brass milled into thin plates or sheets.
The term "latten" has also been used, rarely, to refer to lead alloys.
In general, metal in thin sheets is said to be latten such as gold latten; and lattens, plural, refers to metal sheets between 1/64" and ≤ 1/32" in thickness.
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
s, much like brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
, employed in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and through to the late 18th and early 19th centuries, for items such as decorative effect on borders, rivets or other details of metalwork (particularly armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
), livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
and pilgrim badge
Pilgrim badge
A pilgrim badge is a badge typically made of base metal such as lead alloy or pewter from the medieval period worn by Roman Catholic pilgrims who had travelled to sites of Christian pilgrimage, such as in England Canterbury Cathedral, the site of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket...
s and for funerary effigies. It was commonly formed in thin sheets and used to make church utensils. Brass of this period is made through the calamine brass
Calamine brass
Calamine brass is brass produced by a particular alloying technique using the zinc ore calamine directly, rather than first refining it to metallic zinc...
process, from copper and zinc ore. Later brass was made with zinc metal from Champion
William Champion (metallurgist)
William Champion is credited with patenting a process in Great Britain to distill zinc from calamine using charcoal in a smelter.Champion came from a family who were already concerned in the metal trade at Bristol, his father being a leading partner in the Bristol Brass Company. As a young man he...
's smelting process and is not generally referred to as latten. This calamine brass was generally manufactured as hammered sheet or "battery brass" (hammered by a "battery" of water-powered hammers) and cast brass was rare.
"Latten" also refers to a type of tin plating on iron (or possibly some other base metal), which is known as white latten; and black latten refers to laten-brass, which is brass milled into thin plates or sheets.
The term "latten" has also been used, rarely, to refer to lead alloys.
In general, metal in thin sheets is said to be latten such as gold latten; and lattens, plural, refers to metal sheets between 1/64" and ≤ 1/32" in thickness.