Filigree
There are many metalworking techniques. Certainly one of the most beautiful is filigree. This technique has been used throughout the centuries to create wonderful jewelry and decorative items that we still admire today. The name of this technique comes from Latin. filum-thread and granum-grain. In order to make a decorative item or jewelry using this technique, silver, gold, and rarely copper wire is used to compose the motif. Threads of wire are bent and interlaced, tied together, and thus a complex motif is formed that can be placed on a metal base or free (a-jour-filigree). Circles, flowers, and geometric patterns were made from filigree wire. Small metal balls were sometimes placed on objects made in this way.
History of filigree
Filigree was the most widespread technique in the artistic treatment of silver and gold. Since there were no patterns and schemes for the creation of motifs, the individual folk spirit was most manifested in this technique. Each craftsman combined the patterns "off the top of his head", and good filigree masters were widely known and well-paid for their work. The filigree technique is primarily represented in the Mediterranean area. Examples of jewelry found in Troy dating back to 2500 BC are known. as well as in Mycenae in 1500. BC Beautiful examples of jewelry made with the filigree technique were discovered in Etruscan tombs dating back to the 6th century BC.
Silver smelting - In imperial Rome, the filigree technique was widely used. Under the influence of Roman art at the time of the Migration of Peoples, this jewelry-making technique was widely accepted by the Germanic tribes as well. It reached its peak in Byzantium from the 6th to the 12th century.
After the full bloom of making objects and jewelry using the filigree technique during the 12th and 13th centuries, in developed city centers, and a gradual decline, the resurgence of artistic filigree jewelry making came around 1800, when jewelry made with this technique came back into fashion. In contrast, jewelry making using this technique has been maintained throughout the folk art of Europe and Asia.
Filigree in Serbia
Filigree was also widespread in old Serbian goldsmithing and as such represents the Serbian medieval heritage, which in Turkish times became one of the most common techniques when processing silver and gold jewelry.
Silver Casting - The formation of Serbian goldsmithing and artistic metalwork in general during the Middle Ages was influenced by both the West and the East. The beginning of the 13th century also means the beginning of making expensive jewelry in Serbia. At first, a stronger Western influence can be seen in its construction, but from the end of the 13th century, the influence of Byzantium prevailed. Under the influence of Byzantium, filigree came to our region, which thus became our medieval heritage. A nice example of the intertwining of styles in jewelry making in Serbia is the ring of Stefan the Firstcrowned. Precise workmanship, gold filigree wire, granules, everything reveals the hand of a craftsman who is extremely well acquainted with the delicate technique of filigree.
Stretching loom - The influence of Byzantium is very noticeable in silver and gold earrings made in the filigree technique from the 12th to the 14th century. In medieval Serbia, the filigree technique was also used to make other jewelry such as rings and bracelets. Bracelets are most often made of silver plates to which filigree wire is soldered. Filigree was often used to make objects that were used in liturgical services. Numerous examples of crosses made with this technique have been preserved. Artistic jewelry making from filigree experienced its zenith in the era of King Milutin. In an economically strengthened Serbia, King Milutin invites goldsmiths from other countries who make jewelry to his taste.
Drawing the threads - With the fall of Serbia under the rule of the Turks, the economic and political structure of the country changes completely. Despite this, Serbian goldsmiths do not stop their work. In difficult moments in the middle of the 15th century, their activity died down for a while, only to revive again in the middle of the 16th century. But, due to the decline in economic power, cheaper metals, primarily silver, and copper are being used. Even so, the craftsmen give vent to their imagination when making this jewelry, decorating it with filigree wire, glass paste, and pendants to make it look as luxurious as possible.
Drawing die - However, the folklorization of jewelry is gradually coming, which ceases to be that expensive decoration of high artistic quality. There is also an oriental influence whose main bearers were the Turks. Certain city centers are becoming famous for the production of objects made of filigree. One such center was Užice. The filigree products of Užice goldsmiths are sometimes small masterpieces.
After the conquest of our region by the Turks, in addition to the Latin name filigree, the Turkish name "srma" came into use.
Development of technique
Filigree was most often made of thin silver or gold twisted wire. Silver was first cast into thin ingots, like pencils, then hammered on an anvil and stretched until it was ready to be drawn into a caliber or "drawing die" - a metal plate with a series of holes of different diameters, so that the narrowest hole produced silver wire the thickness of a hair. Pulling out the wire was done manually with flat pliers and this procedure was repeated several times until the desired thickness was obtained. Later, a "ruby" was used for the production of silver wire - a circular plate made of brass with a ruby, in the middle of which there was a hole, through which the wire was passed, up to the desired dimension. During the time for pulling out the wire, the reel comes into use. A device in the form of a box that had a wooden partition in the middle, into which a "srmenjak" or "ruby" was inserted. At the ends of the crates, there were rollers with turning handles. The wire was wound on one roller, passed through the "srmenjak", wound on another roller, and wound with a handle.
Filigree today
From the end of the 19th century, machine-made wire began to be used for making filigree. Depending on what the wire is going to be used for, it is left as a single wire or twisted by putting two or more wires together.
According to the method of production, the filigree was divided into real filigree and pseudo filigree or false filigree.
Real filigree is made in two ways. In the first procedure, the object is made of filigree by free composition within the basic frame of the contour of the object, and it is the so-called air-style filigree. In another way, real filigree is made by placing silver threads on a patterned base, which is actually a base.
In order to make an item or jewelry using the filigree technique, due to the sensitive and delicate structure, the basic contour (pattern) of the item to be made must first be shaped. This base is formed from thicker wire or strips on a burnt board and it gave the object its strength. After the foundation is formed, the so-called "filling" is done, i.e. filling the interstices with small spirals of the thinnest wire.
After the joining (soldering) of all the details came additional decoration, without which the filigree is unthinkable. First of all, there is the addition of granules, and small silver balls, then there are smaller and larger rhombic tiles, strips, or hemispheres. Sometimes the filigree was inlaid with a decorative stone.
Pseudo or fake filigree was made by casting the object and then finishing it by punching, punching, scraping, and engraving. In contrast to real filigree, the objects made in the fake filigree are much rougher.
Извор: „Млади колекционар“, часопис
mr. Славољуб Петровић, виши кустос