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What materials can be used to make filigree designs?
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metalwork
Warrior and attendants plaque, brass relief sculpture by Edo artists in the court of the kingdom of Benin (now Nigeria), 16th–17th century; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Filigree is a decorative art form characterized by delicate, lacelike openwork created using fine, pliable metal threads.1
The primary materials used to create filigree designs are gold and silver wire. These wires are manipulated by curling, twisting, or plaiting them into intricate patterns. Depending on the desired aesthetic, the wire may be used in its smooth form, fashioned into a ropelike plait, or shaped into small hemispheres. Additionally, a more complex variation known as granulated filigree incorporates wire shaped into beads.12
Once the design is prepared, the threads are joined through soldering or welding at their points of contact, either to each other or to a metal groundwork of the same material.12