Not to mention drawing and filigree, filling is also called flat filling, commonly known as filigree filling. It is to fill the made filigree pattern flatly in the prescribed pattern.
Filling the filament is the most tedious process in the filigree process and the most time-consuming process in the filigree inlay process.
Welding is the process of putting the finished patterns together to form complete jewelry through welding.
The process of filigree inlay is to assemble the parts together, which is called saving.
There is also stacking, which is a method of stacking charcoal ash. The code wire is evenly wound around the charcoal ash shape, and then various shapes are formed. The powder is sifted evenly with a small sieve, and the welding process is completed.
The last step is weaving, which is the same as straw weaving and bamboo weaving, except that gold and silver are more difficult to weave, and it requires experienced artists to have even hands to weave them well.
The entire filigree inlay technology can be divided into two major categories, namely filigree technology and inlay technology.
The filigree is made of various patterns using silver wire on square-inch decorative pieces.
Filigree craft crystals are made of different types of gold, silver or copper wires after processing.
Inlay is to inlay jewelry, diamonds, fine stones and jade on gold and silver ornaments, and then combine gold, silver, crystal, white jade and colored glass, etc., and inlay them on hooks, pots, bottles, lamps, axles and other utensils.
The work of inlaying requires inlaying well, setting it flat, and setting it nicely.
For the same gemstone, jade, if placed at different angles, it will directly affect whether the appearance is beautiful or not, which can lead to a huge disparity in price.
In the early years, it was mostly "hugging". The base of the jewelry was made of "open gold" formula. Its texture was hard and made into claws to hold the stone surface.
In the future, when the diamonds are gravelly and the holding setting is not suitable, platinum (platinum) is used instead to be chiseled and set, which is called "squeezing setting".
By the Ming Dynasty, the gold crowns, phoenix crowns and various jewelry produced by the Silver Making Bureau had reached a very high artistic level.
In fact, there were metal jewelry as early as the Shang Dynasty, such as the gold hairpin, gold earring, and gold armband found in the Liujiahe merchant tomb in Pinggu, the capital of China, in 1997.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, gold and silver interlacing craftsmanship was gradually applied to jewelry, mainly on belt hooks.
The filigree inlay technique was popular in the palace and was used on some decorations and ritual vessels.
Two pieces of gold wire used to ward off evil spirits were unearthed from the tomb of Liu Chang, King Mu of Zhongshan during the Eastern Han Dynasty in Dingzhou. They have heads raised to the sky, a majestic posture, and their bodies are made of gold sheets.
Gold silk cloth forms wings and patterns, and the whole body is decorated with turquoise and rubies.
The horns and tail are wrapped with thick and thin gold wire, which is exquisitely made and vivid.
In addition, there are also filigree golden sheep, filigree golden dragons, etc.
There are also some other representative works, such as the tomb crown of Princess Li Jue from the Tang Dynasty, and the peony, tiger and golden hairpin from the Yuan Dynasty.
Gold and silver fine work had already developed greatly by the Six Dynasties period.
Filigree jewelry such as "gold lion", "gold hairpin" and "gold leaf" were popular in the Western Jin Dynasty.
This is made of gold and silver filaments, coiled into various flower-shaped patterns, which are delicate and exquisite, marking the achievements of the filigree craftsmanship of the Western Jin Dynasty.
Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, filigree techniques have been more widely used in women's bun styles and jewelry.
A gold flower ornament unearthed in Chang'an is a typical representative.
The craftsmanship of this ornament is extremely exquisite. The outer layer is composed of 8 small flowers forming a diamond shape, and a small bird stands among the protruding flowers in the middle.
The flowers are knotted with extremely fine gold wire and inlaid with small pieces of emerald. It is small and exquisite and is an excellent work of filigree jewelry in the Tang Dynasty.
Among a number of gold and silverware products unearthed from the Northern Song Dynasty tomb in Mushan, Nandu, one of the heart-shaped gold ornaments is very classic.
It is made by hollowing, carving, filigree and other techniques, fully demonstrating the superb craftsmanship of the Song Dynasty.
Among the Yuan Dynasty gold ornaments unearthed in Qusi Village, Xishan in 1988, the production of several gold ornaments, such as the double-flying butterfly hairpin, the earrings with entangled Tang grass patterns, and the golden flower walking wave, all made full use of the traditional fine filament craftsmanship of pinching, saving, and filling.
, welding, stacking, barrier, weaving, weaving and other techniques.
It can be seen from these pieces of gold jewelry that they are skilled and exquisite in craftsmanship, and it can also be seen that the filigree craft has been quite mature by now.
By the Ming Dynasty, the gold crowns, phoenix crowns and various jewelry produced by the Shendu Silver Bureau had reached a very high artistic level.
In the Ming Dynasty, gold and silver jewelry was used to make decorations and daily utensils in an astonishing amount.
The craftsmanship is superb and the production is meticulous.
It can be said to be a culmination of traditional filigree, carving, engraving, and inlay techniques.
There are many kinds of luxurious and exquisite ones, such as gold crowns woven with gold threads, phoenix crowns, and gold flowers inlaid with jade. There are hundreds of them unearthed from Dingling alone.
The "Golden Silk Crown of King Yizhuang" and the "Golden Silk Pavilion-woven Flower Headdress" unearthed from Xijiang Nancheng are all representatives.
The themes of jewelry in the Ming Dynasty mainly inherited the secular style of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, with dragons and phoenixes, flowers and birds, insects, religions, etc. as the main themes.
The difference is that all the shapes are composed of gemstones as the main body, and are made using filigree inlaid gemstone technology.
Typical artifacts that remain today include a gold flower inlaid with precious stones from the Ming Dynasty and a pair of phoenix-shaped gold hairpins from the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty.
These jewelry can show how skilled the craftsman is.
Of course, the best masterpieces must still be produced in the palace.
For example, Ming Dynasty artists used extremely fine gold wire to weave it into the Wanli Emperor's golden silk winged crown.
It is 24 centimeters high, with a crown as thin as gauze and even gaps.
The top of the golden crown has the pattern of a dragon playing with a bead. It is exquisite in shape and can be called a masterpiece.
The Golden Wing Shanguan consists of three parts: the front room, the back mountain and the wings.
It is woven using 518, 334 and more than 70 gold wires with a diameter of 0.2mm.
The golden crown is light and transparent as a whole, and the gold wires are woven evenly and without obvious knots. The two golden dragons are made of gold filaments and attached to the mountain behind, which is vivid and majestic.
There are no weak spots in the welding joints, which reflects the advanced welding skills of the makers at that time.
What we see now is actually a replica, the one now displayed in the exhibition room of Dingling.
The phoenix crowns of the two empresses Xiaoduan and Xiaojing unearthed from the Dingling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty are not only rare treasures inlaid with filigree, but also large objects inlaid with filigree.
The two concubines wore gold hairpins, and the tops of the hairpins represented a wide range of themes.
Including flowers, butterflies, birds, dragons and phoenixes, geometric patterns, auspicious patterns, text, etc.
A total of more than 500 pieces of jewelry and gold and silver products were unearthed from Dingling, including hairpins, crowns, belt decorations, buckles, and various utensils.
Its production techniques generally include: filigree technique, chiseling technique, inlay and tire making techniques.
Filigree craft is to use gold wire to form patterns and weld them on ornaments.
Chihuahua craft is to use chisel thread to carve patterns on the vessel.
There is nothing to say about inlaying and tire making. It is a process of using special tools to shape gold and silver sheets into various shapes.
These utensils are rarely made using only one craft, but often two or more crafts are used.
One of them is either used as a foil or as an embellishment to achieve a more perfect artistic effect.
In terms of technique, these jewelry rarely use a single craft.
They often use two or more processes, and one of them is a foil.