Jumping Horse Sculpture 925 Silver Handcrafted Filigree Technique Germany 2005

The goldsmith Naser Al-Ybi was born in Damascus in 1962 and learned this art from his father.
Already in the 3rd generation, this goldsmith technique is successfully practiced professionally in the family.
For 16 years, the artist now lives in Germany and has his own studio.
It is historically traditional wedding and costume jewelry objects from Bavaria and Austria in the finest handmade but also small objects in silver such as horses, ships, trays and a unique object like this motorcycle.
Each piece is unique and will not be 100% identical to the previous one when manufactured again.

The term filigree literally means “grained wire” (from Latin filum “thread, wire” and granum “grain”) and refers to fine goldsmith’s work made of metal threads with attached metal beads. Figuratively, the term is also used for any other fine decorative form, such as that of an iron cutter or chaser.

It is an ancient ornamental wire bending technique made of delicate, thin wires braided (corded) as if into ropes. It is known since about 2000 BC from Troy. However, the Etruscans also developed this goldsmithing technique to perfection in the 8th century BC. Via Spain and Portugal, filigree work reached Friesland and spread from there to the Netherlands and northwest Germany. Today, filigree work continues to be used especially in the Alpine countries, but also in the Oriental countries for costume or folk jewelry.

Wires of gold or silver are soldered in decorative patterns onto a base of the same material. From the 20th century, the wires are also braided into a fine, openwork web without a base and soldered only at the points of contact. The material thickness of the wires is up to 0.01 mm. For ornamentation, one uses either only knotted wires, or wires cut with cutting irons and then rolled flat in various thicknesses. Also on thin metal strips are soldered knurled wires. Soldering is done with scatter solder.