Filgree-making is a fast disappearing trade. While Malta had some 300 silversmiths able to create fine masterpieces of intricate designs until a few decades ago, today the number of them can probably be counted on one hand.
Competition has always been stiff but competition with jewellery shops that import items from abroad selling them at cheap prices is the last straw that is breaking the camel’s back. Like lace, filigree is a very sought-after craft by tourists however, mass produced and often imported items continue to be advertised as hand-made, local products with buyers being lured into believing them to be authentic.
Anthony Attard has been a filigree-maker for 46 years and like three of his cousins, he started as an apprentice with a silversmith when he was 15-years-old.
While, with great agility, he twists the silver wire using just his hands, tweezers and pliers, his wife Liliana tirelessly refers to books, newspapers and the internet in search of new information and business opportunities. She too tries her hand at the art and prides herself in identifying innovative techniques to make the one-of-a-kind creations appalling to younger and older generations alike.
The synergy of artistic energy and the need to be business minded is the secret behind this couple’s ongoing business.
All their items are hallmarked by the Office of the Consul for Goldsmith and Silversmiths Malta and each comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity provided by the Malta Crafts Council.
Ornamental pieces of mesmerising detail decorate the Attard couple’s small shop at the depilitated Ta’ Qali Crafts Village. Delicate pieces like earrings, pendants and bracelets, or souvenirs like Maltese eight pointed crosses, are too tempting not to try on.
Although very time-consuming, prices range from €5 for small crosses, €20 for medium sized pendants, to over €1,000 in the case of larger items with more intricate designs. The item’s weight and the metal’s market value determine the price.
Although I spent almost two hours at Mr and Mrs Attard’s shop: Jade Filigree in Ta’ Qali, situated close to a popular glass blowing establishment, not a single person entered the shop to even view the items on sale.
The art of filigree-making
Filigree is the art of creating intricate jewellery pieces using precious metal threads such as silver and gold.
Mr Attard is not a person to keep the art to himself. In fact, he has taught filigree-making at MCAST evening classes for three years under a European Social Fund project.
Although there was great interest in the course, it has since not been repeated. Filigree-making is distinct to the Mediterranean basin and due to our geographical location as well as history, Malta has a long tradition in the craft dating back to thousands of years Before Christ. The craft has been passed from father to son for generations providing an income for village families over the years.
The process of filigree-making starts by melting silver or gold granules in a small furnace (furnell). Upon melting, the metal is poured in moulds to produce ingots after cooling. The metal is then passed through a rolling mill and eventually passed through a draw plate (filliera) so that its thickness is reduced to about 0.55 of a centimetre.
Thicker wires are used to create the outer frame. Two fine threads are then wound together and flattened to make filigree elements.
These elements are then hand-wound together producing various curved shapes: Il – Ġenwiża, Għajn u Ġorn, Lewża (almond), S-shaped, and Nuċċalijiet (glasses).
Each element is then placed next to another and soldered together using silver solder. The semi-finished product is then dipped in safety-pickle, rinsed and burnished in a rambling machine to eliminate oxidisation. It is eventually rinsed again and placed in saw dust to dry.
Finished items are then stored in aluminium foil to protect them from air impurities. For cleaning, a piece of foil or a pure aluminium can be placed in a plastic container with some hot water and washing soda.
Crafts Council not reappointed
“Crafts and artisans form an integral part of our heritage,” boasts the Malta Crafts Council Website.
Rightly so, but what work is actually taking place to promote such trades, give them their due importance and be sure they are not lost once and for all.
Mr and Mrs Attard consider the person who started to organise craft shows and exhibitions in Malta, Dr Ġorġ Mifsud-Chircop as their “father”.
In the book Snajja u Identita’; Is- Snajja u x- Xoghol of 2003, the late Dr Gorg Mifsud-Chircop asked several pertinent questions that have yet to be answered.
“For some artisans and tradesmen, working conditions have become so bad that they had no choice but to neglect certain primary methods in their work to be able to keep up with competition.
“What scientific research has taken place or will take place on the subject?
“When are we going to start taking the two craft villages at Ta’ Qali and Ta’ Dbiegi (Gozo), seriously? …”
Lace-making and granutell have somehow been revived over the past decade. The same unfortunately cannot be said for filigree-making.
The Malta Crafts Council was set up by virtue of Act XXI of 2000 with the aim of encouraging, promoting and regulating the crafts industry and entrepreneurs in the field. It focuses on giving particular importance to crafts forming part of Malta’s heritage.
When contacted, Charles Vassallo, an assistant director responsible for small business and craft within the Commerce Department and former secretary to the Malta Crafts Council pointed out that 850 artisans are listed on the council’s directorate and most come from Ta’ Qali. Entrepreneurs that sell locally made items are also registered on a voluntary basis.
It has a certification system by which recognised members show that their products are genuine artisan items made in Malta.
Mr Vassallo also noted that although the Commerce Department personnel are working on a number of projects specifically aimed at artisans and promoting local trades, the council itself has been dormant for over a year. Council members are appointed by several ministries for a period of two years and when the last council’s term expired, no new appointments were made. The council has not been meeting
Among the ongoing projects are Gieh l-Artiggjanat Malti – an award that was launched for the first time this year and will again be handed out this year.
A survey has also been conducted by the National Statistics Office assessing the state of local crafts.
“Certain crafts have finished while others like filigree are slowly dying,” said Mr Vassallo. “I doubt whether there are 10 local filigree makers out there”.
He hopes that as a result of the survey, an expert report on which should be drawn up over the next months, policies will be decided to raise awareness on, and promote, what is left.
“If you’re not aware of techniques of the trade you won’t realise the difference between a hand made item and something that has been mass produced abroad,” he reminded. “Then again, in hand-made filigree and lace for instance, if you look at an item in detail you’ll realise that the intricate designs in the work won’t be exactly the same, unlike in machine-made items”.
He also pointed out that there is only one self-taught person known to carry out maintenance works on old church clocks. However, a course has been designed and is taking place at the Wistin Camilleri Centre for Art and Crafts in Gozo to pass the trade on to others.
Similarly, the manufacture of local salt is slowly finishing because imported products come at much cheaper prices. Nonetheless, olive oil production is growing. Products are exported to Austria and Germany and sold at good prices.
“Awareness must increase because we are ready to give some frame as a wedding gift but rarely think of giving a unique locally made product,” Mr Vassallo said.
The department is also working on a portal for local artisans to advertise their products.
Courses in the fields of marketing and IT are meanwhile being organised for members.
Personnel at the Commerce Department are also helping in the organisation of artisan fairs and exhibitions while encouraging Crafts Council members to participate.
While Mr and Mrs Attard participate in as many fairs and cultural events as possible, they would like to see the establishment of a permanent artisan’s market.
They would like to be able to promote their work at the Valletta Cruise Passenger Terminal but the opportunity has never been granted. On the other hand, while local councils are helping a lot by organising activities that promote traditions, these are often not properly marketed in hotels and among tourists.
Mr and Mrs Attard of Jade Filigree at the following events:
• Iljieli Mellihin, Mellieha
9 September (evening) and
11 September (from 10am)
• Dome Fest, Mosta
10 September (evening)
• Casal Fornaro, Qormi
17 September evening
• World Tourism Day, Valletta
24 September (morning)
• Zejt iz- Zejtun, Zejtun
24 September (evening)
• Notte Bianca, Valletta
1 October (evening)
• Birgu fest, Vittoriosa
7, 8, 9 October
• Kwalita Malta Fair, MFCC
November