Fine wirework

Japanese: 細線細工 - さいせんざいく

A precious metal craft technique that takes advantage of the malleable nature of gold and silver to make them into thin threads or particles, which are then soldered to a base plate to enhance the decorative effect. It is also called filigree. It is a translation of the English word filigree, which comes from the Italian word filigrana. Filigree is often limited to line work, and granulation is often called granulation. The oldest example is a gold dagger excavated from the tomb of the King of Ur in Mesopotamia (c. 2500 BC), and the technique of granulation was mastered, as can be seen in the necklace excavated from Dahshur at the beginning of the 12th Dynasty of Egypt (c. 1920 BC).

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

金銀の延びる性質を利用して細い糸状や粒子とし，地板に鑞付（ろうづけ）して装飾的効果を高める貴金属工芸の技術。細金細工（さいきんざいく∥ほそがねざいく）ともいう。イタリア語filigranaに由来する英語のfiligreeの訳。filigreeを線細工に限定し，粒細工をgranulationということが多い。最古の例はメソポタミアのウル王墓出土の金製短剣(前2500ころ)で，エジプト第12王朝の初め(前1920ころ)のダフシュール出土の頸飾にみられるように，粒細工の技術を習得していた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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