Tibetan silver (Chinese ''Zangyin'') in modern usage refers to a variety of white non-precious metal alloys used primarily in jewelry components, with an appearance similar to aged silver.

Description

Silver in Tibet

In ancient times

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

was imported from regions near modern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

( Bactria, Khorasan), and an association of silverwork with Iran appears to have developed. Silver was imported from China (as ingots), India (''tankas''), and from Mongolia and Siberia. Some silver was mined in Tibet, but imports were required to satisfy the country's requirements for minting. In addition to coinage silver was used in Tibet for '' repousse'' work, and as an inlay in brass and copper statues. Historically 'Tibetan Silver' did contain silver, and some old items may be predominantly silver.

Modern usage

'Tibetan Silver' includes copper-tin, and copper-nickel alloys; zinc alloys; and other alloy compositions, as well as base metals such as iron plated with a silver alloy. An

X-ray fluorescence X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is the emission of characteristic "secondary" (or fluorescent) X-rays from a material that has been excited by being bombarded with high-energy X-rays or gamma rays. The phenomenon is widely used for elemental analysis ...

analysis showed that six of seven items acquired online and described as 'Tibetan silver' were alloys containing primarily copper, nickel, zinc. There are potential health hazards associated with Tibetan Silver due to the undefined or uncertain definition of the alloy - these include allergies due to Nickel, but also could include other serious hazards including the presence of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...

in the alloy.

Zangyin

''Zangyin'' is a Chinese term for 'Tibetan silver' - it seems to originate from a scholar's term for the inferior silver adulterated with high proportion of copper used for Tibetan coinage in the late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

period.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tibetan Silver Copper alloys Jewellery making