Ankhs and Orbs
(c) Antique Metalware Society
Small extracts can be used with acknowledgements to 'Oldcopper.org' website.
Helpful comments are very welcome.
Some variations on the Egyptian symbol for eternal life that was adopted by the Greek philosophers to represent copper.
Oldest Profession is Metallurgy
In his presidential address to The Institute of Metals some years ago, Dr Eric Duckworth referred to Greek mythology. He reminded us that Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, first appeared rising out of the sea off the Island of Cyprus. As she rose, she was holding a shiny copper mirror and admiring her image. Obviously the mirror had been made by metallurgists before she appeared. Therefore, he mused, metallurgy must be the oldest of the professions.
The Ankh
(Rotating Ankh by Andy Callcut)
The ankh has been used for centuries to represent copper. It was one of the few metals then known to the Greeks who chose to associate each metal with a planet. The range was:
1 - gold (sun)
2- silver (moon)
3 - lead (Saturn)
4 - tin (Jupiter)
5 - iron (Mars)
6 - mercury (Mercury)
7 - Copper (Venus)
For many years it was the prividge of elected members of The Institution of Metallurgists to wear a tie bearing the symbols for copper and iron. As the other biological uses of the symbols for female and male genders became more common there was the possibility of confusion. The use of the symbols has therefore been quietly reduced. Some of the examples reproduced below have been judged to be now no longer needed.
Benham & Froude
Their trade mark orb logo was inspired by the orb that they had made for the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, London which could be seen from their workshops. It also looks like an inverted ankh so is doubly suitable.
Roycroft, USA
Vivienne Westwood, mark on brass cufflinks.
Grilby Metallfabrik, Grilby, Sweden.
Goebel.
Procobre, Peru.
Pin badge from the Polish Copper Centre.
Rhodesian coppersmith (now Zambia)
Brass key ring in the shape of an ankh and copper key tag lettered with Cu+ sign for the anti-microbial properties of copper by Copper Development Association, UK.
Tie logo also by Copper Development Association, UK.
Copper Development Centre for South East Asia.
Japanese Copper Centre.
Indian Copper Development Centre.
A different logo used by CDA Inc, USA.
Copper Development Centres have been set up in many countires with funding from local and international sources.
Those in Europe (correct 2018) are:
Europe
European Copper InstituteAvenue de Tervueren 168 b10
B-1150 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 777 70 70
E-mail: eci@copperalliance.eu
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France Olivier Tissot |
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GermanyMichael Sander |
GreeceNikolaos VergopoulosHellenic Copper Development Institute 252 Piraeus Str 177 78 Tavros Athens Greece Tel: +30 (210) 4898 296 Fax: +30 (210) 4898 311 nick.vergopolous@copperalliance.gr |
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HungaryRobert PinterHungarian Copper Promotion Centre 1053 Budapest Kepiro u. 9 Hungary Tel: +36 (1) 266 4810 Fax: +36 (1) 266 4804 robert.pinter@copperalliance.hu |
ItalyMarco Crespi Tel: +39 (3) 5549 9371
marco.crespi@copperalliance.it |
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PolandMichael RamczykowskiPolskie Centrum Promocji Miedzi Spolka z o o ul. Sw. Mikolaja 8-11 50-125 Wroclaw Poland Tel: +48 71 781 2502 Fax: +48 71 781 2504 michal.ramczykowski@copperalliance.pl |
ScandinaviaPia VoutilainenScandinavian Copper Development Association Vaisalantie 2 02130 Espoo Finland Tel: +358 40 59 00 494 Fax: +358 9 412 3022 pia.voutilainen@copperalliance.se |
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SpainDiego García CarvajalCentro Espanol de Informacion del Cobre Calle Princesa 79 - 1 izda 28008 Madrid Spain Tel: +34 91 5448 451 Fax: +34 91 5448 884 diego.carvajal@copperalliance.es |
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