Filigree art has been known from ancient times: it was practiced in Egypt, Greece, Rome and in the Byzantine Empire. And in Russia too: her earliest specimens are dated back to the 9th century A.D. How indigenous was the Russian filigree art? Where did it remain true to ancient traditions? And where was it exposed to foreign influences? It will become possible to answer these and other questions by studying the techniques of filigree art. Articles in this rubric reflect the opinion of the author.- Ed. page 64 When I first began studying the old Russian granulation and filigree art, I could hardly contain the feeling of excitement and jubilation, even though the subject was one in a succession of my routine assignments. How happy was I on days when some of the famous museums here allowed me to have a look at their jewelry, and when I could, as my official assignment said, "make microphotographs of technicalities." And here I am, trudging toward the Moscow Kremlin, burdened with a weighty binocular lens, camera and attachment. Marina Martynova, a custodian at the Armory, opens the showcase, pulls on snow-white gloves, and puts a necklace of precious medallions, the celebrated Ryazan barmy, on the stage of my lens. I peer into the lens and find myself in a world of golden hues. An enormous world! I have no words to describe the density of details packed into every square millimeter of the filigree carpet. Later on I crystallized my emotions into the cut and dried phrase, "visual examination of old Russian ornaments adorned with granulation and filigree at magnification x l6". The position of the object changes imperceptibly on the stage, yet enough for the scrolls, colors, and mounted gems to reveal their minute details to my eyes. As I gaze into the middle of a flower, just two millimeters large, I am overwhelmed with a blizzard of conjectures: how, when, and where this precious beauty came to be... Here's what granulation is all about: tiny silver or gold gr ... Читать далее