The Silver Thread: silver filigree and traditional arts in Kosovo

Lecturer: Elizabeth Gowing

Europe’s largest silver mines have been worked since Roman times, leading to the development of a wide range of artistic techniques.  None is more exquisite,  or characteristic of this region, than the fine filigree created from  what is literally a ‘thread’ of silver.

Filigree is an ancient craft which spread across the former Ottoman Empire and is still practised in Kosovo by men and women who turn into dragons as they puff fire during the process. With sprinklings of silver dust, and great skill, thick rods of the metal are magicked into fine wire and on into lacy jewellery, adornment and religious artefacts. The lecture describes how a silver thread runs through Kosovo’s history, culture and economics, and highlights how silver is still mined, lived, crafted, used and worn in one of Europe’s least-known countries