Metalwork

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5

Granulation and Filigree

Other surface decoration techniques using metal on metal are granulation and filigree. Granulation, used for jewelry, is only possible with gold. In granulation, beads of gold are soldered onto gold surfaces; the finest of this work was produced by the Etruscans in the 6th and 5th centuries bc. The beads were so minute as to give the appearance of a bloom to the gold surface, rather than of a beaded surface. Filigree can be made of both gold and silver; openwork patterns are worked from minute cables made of two or three twined or braided gold or silver wires. Filigree was extremely popular in the 16th and 17th centuries to decorate vases and drinking vessels, especially in Italy and Germany, as well as in 18th- and 19th-century South America. In Russian and Scandinavian countries filigree has survived as a provincial craft and is used for boxes, mirror cases, and peasant jewelry. It is obviously fragile work and, except for jewelry, usually has a backing material.

Similar openwork effects are called ajouré, mostly used to ornament domestic silver and some jewelry, and are achieved by cutting or piercing patterns in the metal. Ajouré was most popular from the late 17th to the early 19th century. Conversely, raised patterns can be made by soldering small castings or cutout motifs onto a flat surface, a method of decoration in use for over 4000 years.

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6

Embellishment with Other Materials

Every civilization with a wealthy or high-status class has, for over four millennia, used decorative metalwork embellished with other materials. These include precious and semiprecious gemstones, enamels (including niello, a black finish), a variety of exotic substances such as rare woods, ivory, jade, and amber, and reverse-painted and gilded glass (verre églomisé). In ancient times ceremonial furnishings were almost as exotically decorated as personal jewelry and cult implements. In more recent times this type of decorative metalwork has tended to be reserved for personal objects, including jewelry.

C

Metalwork as Art

In considering the use of metals in art, it must be remembered that only since the Industrial Revolution has a clear distinction been made between machine-made useful objects and handcrafted fine and decorative art objects. For thousands of years, until the mid-18th century, everything was of necessity handmade; useful objects were almost always shaped and decorated to have aesthetic appeal, although pieces that might now be considered purely fine art—such as statues and jewelry—served deeply serious religious or ceremonial functions.

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V

Types of Metalwork

The shape, function, and appearance of metalwork are determined in large part by the type of metal used. The precious metals (gold and silver) share these characteristics; the base metals (copper, tin, lead, and iron) and their alloys (bronze, brass, and pewter) may differ widely in their characteristics. In metalwork of the Renaissance and after, however, these characteristics may overlap; this happened, for instance, when wrought iron was worked with exquisite refinement in 17th- and 18th-century Europe.

A

Gold

Gold dust and small gold nuggets are found in many areas of the earth, either on the surface of the land or in streams and shallow rivers. Presumably, its beauty of color and relative softness made it attractive for ornament or for religious purposes from primeval times.