Museo della Filigrana

The use of the term filigree (less common filagrana or filigree) was used starting from 1600, probably thanks to a Florentine scholar, Lorenzo Magalotti. The origin of the name is undoubtedly Latin, and derives from the union of two nouns: thread (fìlum) and grain intended as a grain (granum). According to the Treccani Encyclopedia it is "a particular type of gold and silver processing, which consists in bending and intertwining metal filaments, bringing them together in their points of contact with welding, also made of metal, by means of of torch to be welded ". Generally, therefore, the whole work is done entirely with garnet thread, obtaining the effect of a slightly unreal arabesque. The first authentic watermark of antiquity can be documented by the findings of Troy (Hissarlik, II and III layer) datable to 2000-2500 BC, and of Ur, the ancient capital of the Sumerians, which already document the use of silver and a good working technique. For some sources (vv Encyclopedia of Arts and Industries, 1882), "the inventors of the filigree were the Arabs, because they were always excellent in this industry. A good enough reason for the preference given by these peoples to this branch of goldsmithing, lies in the predilection that their women had and have for light ornaments, because of the warm climate of the country in which they live and the softness of their customs. " the inventors of the filigree were the Arabs, because in this industry they were always excellent. A good enough reason for the preference given by these peoples to this branch of goldsmithing lies in the predilection that their women had and have for light ornaments, because of the warm climate of the country in which they live and the softness of their customs. . " the inventors of the filigree were the Arabs, because in this industry they were always excellent. A good enough reason for the preference given by these peoples to this branch of goldsmithing lies in the predilection that their women had and have for light ornaments, because of the warm climate of the country in which they live and the softness of their customs. . "

Without machines, the production of filigree thread must have been a big problem for the ancient craftsmen. There are various hypotheses about the method of producing the wire; however, they agree that the first step was to detach strips from the metal sheets using a cutting tool. The method used to transform these strips into wire is uncertain: some experts say that the strips were made round by hammering them. This method, if plausible for processing bars or large threads, is however not valid for producing the very thin threads that filigree work requires. The most probable method, on the other hand, seems to be that according to which the wire was pulled through dies not very different from those used by today's artisans, using pierced grains of hard stone.

In Egypt filigree objects dating back to 1500 BC have been found: here the jewels are made with fretwork works and with the harmonious arrangement of meshes, sheets and metal rods; filigree bracelets and pendants of various shapes were also found in the rich tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun. In the Soviet Union, near Carnigov, pendants were found with depictions of lions and rams decorated with gold threads and pendants with pearls intertwined with garnet thread, dating back to 1100 BC: much of the Russian jewelery of the period is affected by the influences of art of the Greek Levant.

Around the eighth century BC it spreads in Etruria, where jewels of remarkable beauty have been found, in particular in Bisenzio, Vetulonia, Tarquinia, Cerveteri: in these filigrees the processing is more refined and graceful in a moderate display of lines and of curves, with the use of human and animal figures obtained by molding on thin sheets then covered with granules. According to Herodotus, the Etruscans are a people coming from Lydia, an ancient region of Asia Minor: this would explain the familiarity of this people with the metalworking technique, being the Lydian deposits among the most conspicuous and famous of antiquity.

At the fall of the Western Roman Empire (about 500 AD), the barbarian invasions brought to Italy an interesting technical and stylistic contribution in the processing of filigree: in particular we remember the decoration of the weapons with the use of the chisel and with the ageminatura. The objects worked with the filigree cone technique for the first centuries used only for ornamentation; Only from the Middle Ages on these are accompanied by objects related to religious worship, such as chalices, candelabra, crucifixes, while in China reproductions of real objects belonging to everyday use are made. In Italy, processing begins after the year 1000, thanks to the relations that the Maritime Republics had with the countries of the East during the period of the Crusades.