Metal art
Icon painting, which had brought fame to Mstera by the middle of the 18th century, gave impetus to the development of metal art. Mstera craftsmen began to decorate icons with copper and silver casings using the technique of stamping and engraving.
The main tool of a stamper was a stamp – a metal rod with a rectangular polished and hardened work surface, which could be narrow and sharp. Precise contours and relief were stamped on the metal with the help of this instrument. Where the elements of the drawing were replicated a master used a special puncheon, the working surface of which contained a drawing (dot, asterisk, leaf of a plant, etc.). The relief pattern was imprinted by means of the blow of a hammer on the puncheon. In fact, a puncheon is a small stamp for which a press is not needed.