002.289.Idrija

Idrija Municipal Museum, Prelovčeva 9, SI-5280 Idrija.

Public

Municipality of Idrija, Mestni trg 1, SI-5280 Idrija

510:IDR;RZ-377

Mine, Transport - other transport, Smelting

The steel flask is made of welded steel. It is large, solid and in a cylindrical shape with a flat bottom. The rim is domed and curved. The top has a round neck without inner screw threads and without a plug. The handle is a curved forged profile, which is inserted into the brackets on the upper part of the steel flask. The steel flask volume is 2.7 litres. It can store 34.48 kg of mercury.

Length 12.6 cm, width 12.6 cm, height 33 cm.

Steel.

The middle of the 20th century

Electro-mechanical plant of the Idrija Mercury Mine (mechanical workshop).

The finished process of ore smelting was followed by the process of condensation. Its final product was mercury, which still needed cleaning. After that, it was put in steel flasks with the purpose of storing and transporting. Before its trading, due to its large mass, it needed to be secured in the vice, properly sealed, closed with a screw plug and marked with a seal. Then the bottler took it to the stand and turned it upside down to check the sealing. Because this work was hard, the Idrija Mine simplified the filling procedure in the second half of the 20th century. Empty steel flasks were loaded onto the cart, the bottom of which was padded with rubber. Mercury was poured into the flasks and sealed with screw plugs with the compressed air machine. The bottler then took the cart into the warehouse and turned the flasks upside down (with the neck facing down).

The steel flask for mercury is being preserved, secured and presented as important monument of Idrija mining heritage with exceptional universal values. It is a part of a mining collection. Visitors can view it within the permanent museum display “Tracing Mercury: Idrija-Almadén”. It can also be used for different types of mercury heritage promotions.

The Smelting Plant of the Idrija Mercury Mine.

Idrija Municipal Museum, Gewerkenegg Castle (Tracing Mercury: Idrija-Almadén, 3rd showroom).

The described object is fully preserved with all original parts, with the exception of the plug. It was conserved before 1995, during the time of preparations for the opening of the permanent museum exhibition. Additional interventions are not necessary. Security of the premises is taken care of.

good

Regular seasonal maintenance.

- Inventory Book of the Idrija Municipal Museum.

Mestni muzej Idrija

Miha Kosmač

12. 3. 2018

Never