Filigree

ornamental work made of fine gold or silver wire. Copper also is used for the purpose. It is a sort of metallic lace work of a very light and elegant character, suitable for brooches, bracelets, crosses, embroidery, and other ornaments. Small grains or bits of metal soldered to a solid background are often interspersed with the wire work to give a variety of effect. Filigree is capable of being worked into many different forms, as arabesques, leaves, flowers, and the like. It is one of the most ancient kinds of jewelers' work. Fine specimens have been found in the tombs of the Greeks and the ancient Etruscans. The ancient artificers of India, China, Japan, and even of the Malay Archipelago were cunning makers of filigree. In the Middle Ages Genoa and Venice were famous for their manufactures of this sort of work. During the eleventh century the Irish were especially noted for the beauty of their filigree, a sort of skill which they subsequently transferred to the making of the celebrated Irish lace. The jewelers of Malta have a high reputation for this sort of work. In modern art the term is applied to any sort of metal or glass work, even to basketry, having a thread-like or lace effect.