Refining copper in a furnace. In the foreground a coating of copper is being hammered off an iron bar. This was a method of testing to see if the meta

---

Refining copper in a furnace. In the foreground a coating of copper is being hammered off an iron bar. This was a method of testing to see if the metal was sufficiently refined. From De re metallica, by Agricola, pseudonym of Georg Bauer (Basle, 1556)

---

Size: 3045px × 2879px
Photo credit: © Universal History Archive/UIG/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1556, agricola, bar, basle, bauer, coating, copper, de, foreground, furnace, georg, hammered, iron, metal, metallica, metallurgy, method, pseudonym, refined, refining, sufficiently, technology, testing