Lost Trades Nᵒ.10: Filigree, a Forgotten Birmingham Craft

Illustration by the author.

The Encyclopaedia of Geography (1834) highlighted the main trades of Birmingham as ‘pins, buttons, nails, paper trays [probably japanned papier-mâché tea trays], filigree, and toys’.*1* All of these are well-known Birmingham trades dating back to, at least, the eighteenth century, but filigree stands out because it does not have the same association with Birmingham as the other trades.

The manufacture of filigree used flattened, usually silver, wire soldered to form decorative and delicate patterns, usually in the making of jewellery and small boxes. These small filigree items were popular in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and many examples survive. Silver filigree, though, was not required to be marked so its place of production can be uncertain. Yet, there is evidence to support The Encyclopaedia of Geography that filigree was, indeed, a prominent Birmingham trade. 

Metal Things: Gallery of Filigree Counter Boxes

 

Silver filigree counter box with painted enamel insert, c. 1790.
Private collection.

Several silver filigree counter boxes with enamel tops survive in museums and private collections, dating, probably, from the late 1700s. Counters were used in gaming so a decorative box was an eye-catching accessory on the gaming table.

Like much silver filigree of this period, these boxes aren't marked, but the combination of filigree and enamel makes it almost certain that these decorative objects were made in Birmingham and nearby. Birmingham was dominant in the manufacture of filigree (see post here) and, unlike other towns, contained within and nearby a diverse number of other artisans including skilled enamellers. Birmingham's famed Soho manufactory produced many filigree items including items for gaming such as quadrille pools and dice boxes. The 1782 inventory of the contents of the manufactory included 'Small Enamels Richards' and 'Enamels from Wednesbury' so, if they made boxes similar to the one above, they may bought the decorated enamel circles in from local makers in Birmingham (Richards was possibly Theophilus Richards, a local Birmingham filigree and toy maker) and Wednesbury.* There is no reason to believe that these boxes were made in Soho, but it is very likely that the filigree makers ordered in the enamel tops from other local makers.

Top with Knave of Clubs.

Base.

Gallery Below

Metal Things: Gallery of Filigree Caddy Spoons

Jockey cap design silver filigree caddy spoon.

The 'peak' handle is of the same design as a spoon by Pemberton, below.

To find out more about Birmingham's filigree trade, click here.

Caddy spoons were part of tea drinking paraphernalia, and were used to scoop out loose tea from the tea caddy. The examples below were all made in silver filigree in Birmingham.

Gallery Below

Metal Things: Silver Filigree Nutmeg Grater (probably) by Samuel Pemberton (c. 1800)

Silver filigree nutmeg grater, probably Samuel Pemberton, c. 1800.
Held at Birmingham Assay Office.

This delicate object was made to be carried on the person, and would have held a nutmeg in the larger compartment [see below], and had a surface for grating which opened the other side. It was fashionable over the eighteenth century to carry nutmegs which could be grated into coffee, chocolate, punch and other alcoholic drinks. Nutmeg was beautifully fragrant, and was relatively expensive. It was used to freshen breath and some believed it to have medicinal qualities too.

Showing the opening of the grater, with a section
to hold the nutmeg and another for the grater.

See my post on: Birmingham Filigree

Find more metal & Birmingham objects: Nutmeg Graters / Silver / Samuel Pemberton / Filigree