Art & Design

Metalsmithing Techniques

Forging, casting, repousse, granulation, filigree - which metalsmithing technique creates the finest metalwork?

Metalsmithing Techniques — 16 entries in the art & design category, sortable by Technique, Category, Common Metals. A clean, structured reference list with the full source data in one place.

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Updated:4/9/2026

#art #metalsmithing #craft #techniques #metalwork

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Technique↕	Category↕	Common Metals↕	Origin↕	Notable Example↕	Description↕
Forging	Forming	Iron, steel, bronze	Bronze Age	Samurai katana blades	Hammering hot metal on anvil to shape it while preserving grain structure
Repousse	Forming	Copper, silver, gold	3rd millennium BC	Mask of Agamemnon (1550 BC)	Hammering from the reverse side to create raised relief designs on metal sheet
Chasing	Finishing	Silver, gold, copper	Ancient Egypt	Cellini salt cellar (1543)	Refining and detailing raised repousse designs from the front side
Granulation	Joining	Gold primarily	Etruscan 7th century BC	Etruscan gold jewelry	Tiny gold spheres fused to surface in patterns without visible solder
Filigree	Joining	Gold, silver wire	Mesopotamia 3000 BC	Portuguese filigree earrings	Fine twisted wires soldered into delicate lace-like openwork patterns
Enameling	Surface	Copper, gold, silver	Mycenaean 13th century BC	Faberge eggs	Powdered glass fused to metal at high heat creating glossy colored surface
Lost-Wax Casting	Casting	Bronze, gold, silver	4000 BC Near East	Benin Bronzes (13th century)	Wax model invested in ceramic mold, melted out, replaced with molten metal
Sand Casting	Casting	Bronze, iron, aluminum	China 1000 BC	Early cannon production	Molten metal poured into cavity formed by packed sand around a pattern
Engraving	Surface	Silver, steel, gold	Ancient Egypt	Durer copper plates	Cutting lines into metal surface with hardened steel burin to create designs
Etching	Surface	Steel, copper, zinc	15th century Germany	Rembrandt etchings	Acid bites design through protective wax ground to recess image into metal
Niello	Surface	Silver, gold	Roman era	Sutton Hoo sword fittings	Black sulphide alloy inlaid into engraved lines for dramatic contrast
Damascening	Inlay	Steel with gold/silver	Damascus, medieval	Toledo Spanish sword hilts	Precious metal wire hammered into undercut grooves in darker base metal
Mokume-Gane	Forming	Layered mixed metals	Japan 17th century	Shoami Denbei tsuba	Stacked dissimilar metals forge-welded and carved to show wood-grain patterns
Anticlastic Raising	Forming	Copper, silver	Modern (Heikki Seppa)	Contemporary hollowware	Sheet metal hammered into saddle-shaped curves going two directions at once
Hydraulic Die Forming	Forming	Silver, copper, brass	20th century	Susan Kingsley bowls	Hydraulic press forces metal sheet into die cavity to create raised forms
Soldering	Joining	All precious metals	Ancient	All jewelry construction	Flux and alloy melted at torch to permanently bond two metal parts together

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