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1. DefinitionThere is no systematic classification of the metals, but many are grouped together on the basis of specific qualities. Among the precious metals, the most important are gold, silver, and the platinum group (ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, rhenium, and platinum). These are the metals that combine with oxygen neither at ordinary nor high temperatures, and do not corrode. Their behavior in combination with acids varies: silver dissolves in nitric acid and concentrated su…

1. GeneralMining iconography deals with the representation of activities involved in mining in the graphic arts. Only a few examples from antiquity have survived; the numbers increase when we reach the high Middle Ages: around 1200 the legendary discoverers of the Mansfeld copper shale (“Nappian and Neucke”) were represented as corbel figures in a chapel near Eisleben; these are considered the earliest examples of Central European mining iconography.Rainer Slotta2. Churches, sculpture, and the minor artsEspecially in the Renaissance and the Baroque, heydays of mini…