Big copper cylinder with green patina
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I picked this up at an estate sale. What they were selling
was a real hodge-podge, but a few antiques, so I could not get an idea from
context as to whether it is an antique, or just made to look like one. The
metal is sheet copper. The handles are cast brass. The patina is real and not
paint (I make sculpture, so I know. I am not suggesting the patina evolved over
time, but assume it was given an intentional patina with chemicals, the way I
do my brass and copper.). The hammered rivets go all the way through from
outside to inside. There is no stamp on it anywhere to indicate origin.
The price was $ 40. That gave me some pause, but the patina
color is ideal for several rooms I have. I figured if I didn’t get it, I would
regret it, if I passed it up and thought of a use later.
So what do you think:
antique, or not?
And...more importantly: what could I do with it? Diameter is
13”. Height is 26” : much too deep to
reach into comfortably to retrieve something small in the bottom. I may post in Decorating too.
One obviously thinks “Umbrella stand”, except it is really
too big for that, and I only have 2
umbrellas, kept in a more functional location next to the door to the garage.
“Vessel for giant flower arrangement or collection of tall
sticks” does not hold appeal. I am trying to get rid of such things in the
house. That use as well, like the umbrella stand, seems like a too- predictable
choice.
Ideas? Thanks.
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Comments (10)
lindac92
8 years ago
PROSombreuil
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Whats the best way to age copper?
Comments (16)Urine, animal or human will turn copper green. Weird but true. When the parliament building in Victoria, Vancouver was built, they put on a copper dome. The government wanted it to be green before they dedicated the new building. They put the word out that they needed cow or human urine. The people of Victoria were happy to donate to the effort. When the building was dedicated, the dome was a beautiful green....See MorePin hole leaks in copper pipes
Comments (30)lazypup's in the ballpark but I think his long discourse on cavitation is more tailored to an extreme version you'd see in a hot water system. Cavitation occurs at a microscopic level. It happens at points in the pump volute and on the impeller where low pressure occurs (the trailing edge of the impeller is the best example). If the suction head required by the pump to operate is greater than what's available due to suction line throttling or friction losses, the low pressure becomes low enough to cause water to vaporize. It's technically "steam" but not like you think b/c it can happen even at room temperature. This can be exacerbated by pumping a hot fluid b/c it has a higher vapor pressure (i.e. it 'boils' easier). Your pump can be sitting there pumping water pretty much normally and still be cavitating. Lazypup's description makes it sound like you suddenly get a pump full of steam, but that's not the case. The bubbles that are formed by cavitation immediately collapse back on themselves and that's what causes the pump's parts to erode, since the bubbles occur at surfaces in the pump. It sounds like you're pumping marbles. Lazypup's description sounds more like a pump that's air binding. For hot water, it can be an extreme version of cavitation. But what he describes sounds more to me like a situation where the pump is depending on the pumped fluid for some of its lubrication/cooling. If the fluid isn't there, then the pump can quickly overheat....See MoreCopper sinks
Comments (49)What a fun thread. I'll just bump it mostly for the opportunity to laud and thank CP. Wow. I must certainly be caring for my family's health because I am contemplating buying a copper sink. As if the price tag weren't discouragement enough, I will stay very, very far away from el creeeeeepy Rachieeele now. I, too vaguely remember that ad from my youth. It was as creeeeepy then as it is now. Geesh. So yeah -- copper is copper. It's pretty, it's relatively good in the cleanliness department when not gunked up with a sealer (no doubt precisely due to its oxidating patinating qualities -- btw, I don't know about the cleanliness properties of copper but I do know some about ss having worked once for a company that manufactured a product marketed to hospitals and other industrial purposes for cleaning the ss. The take-home message was, no one's ss is clean; to get an operating room clean-enough requires unbelievably scary-strong chemicals and this only lasts very briefly. Your kitchen sink is absolutely certainly scary-gross (as in unhealthily so, regardless of how much you love your children). And your countertop is too, regardless of whether you smear the microbes around immediately after deposition. Them's the breaks. Bugs happen and btw, they're winning...) So my question is: what's wrong with a Mexican sink if you can be sure it's not got a sealer on it? I'm just talking small vessel here, so it's not like it has to withstand a lot of weight or be made to avoid gaposis . Is this just garden variety xenophoblia that causes people to steer away from Mexican copper? Because it's my impression that there are some pretty fine Mexican copper artisans and my only real regret is not being able to jet down there to interact with one in person. I may try to check out this place as a consolation prize. Can anyone suggest to me some pitfall I might encounter here or some pointed, probing question I should ask in order to insure adequacy? Maybe, should I ask about the purity? Do I care? What's wrong with using recycled copper? Sounds like a good thing to me?! And for that matter, do I really even care if there's a light brown copper sink finish? Eventually it will fail, then it will be slightly more splotchy than usual for a period of time so short I, in my insensitive glory, will barely notice. I don't know about the rest of you, but a year lasts an eyeblink around here. So my question is: if I don't care about blotchiness or unevenness in patina, at least temporarily, perhaps I can even live with a "light finish" too, eh?...See MoreCopper Sink question
Comments (28)Hi napagirl, Yes, the corners are very easy to clean and are radiused. No matter what you think of any "etailer" or "Ebayer", remember that one of the most important factors that myself and others have found with these hand hammered copper sinks is the thickness. Copper is malleable and can dent/deform easily. The 15/16 gauge sinks are too light IMHO. ...sure, the seller will tell you they are fine, but if you see them in person there is a huge difference between the 14 gauge and the lighter sinks. I think I mentioned my friend that bought one on Ebay and then went to Copper Sinks Online? That same sink from both companies had a weight difference of 50%! This is really important in the kitchen if you want long term use and not to have to worry about banging pots and pans around without causing damage. Also, bear in mind that the ones on Ebay had a shallower depth. Again, you get what you pay for. ...just my $0.02... As you will see if you search this forum, Copper Sinks Online has recieved a lot of praise from many people here on the forum. The other things that were important to us was the company reputation, that it was based in the US, that they had been around for a while, the sinks were from Mexico (not India or China) and you could call and get a "real person". These sinks take a little more time to research than others since even copper sinks from Mexico have vast differences in quality/workmanship, thickness, size, etc. I'm happy we took our time as the sinks and company we bought from our outstanding and as mentioned earlier, these sinks are built like a tank. ...they will most likely outlast our kitchen... Hi Paso - Here is a photo - I got a 10% discount for sending these in. :-) ...hubby is a good photographer... The farmhouse sink in an a "Dark Smoke": and the whole kitchen: The faucets are Graff and very solid and heavy. We really like them. We bought these from the same company and when I went back to their website to get the link, I saw that they have a 10% off special for buying both the faucet and the sink together. Good luck!...See More
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
8 years agolinnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agolindac92
8 years agoantiquesilver
8 years agocarolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agocarolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
8 years ago- PRO
Artisan Kitchens
8 years ago
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linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)Original Author