Filigree inlay is one of the “Eight Unique Skills of Beijing”, and is also a national intangible cultural heritage protection project. It has a long history of heritage and a unique royal charm. The exquisite artistic value, ingenious craftsmanship, and valuable classical collections of filigree inlay have attracted considerable attention in contemporary society.

The traditional skill of filigree inlay has been passed down and developed for over 3000 years. As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the craftsmanship of fine gold existed and had a very high technical level. Some of the fine gold objects and gold ornaments unearthed from the tombs of the Shang and Zhou dynasties are early forms of filigree inlay. Since the Han and Tang dynasties, with the prosperity and stability of the economy and society, the widespread use of gold objects and jewelry has been continuously improved, gradually becoming the material pursuit of the upper-class nobles.

The development of the gold industry and smelting technology in the Tang Dynasty drove the maturity and refinement of gold-making craftsmanship. In the official workshops of the Tang Dynasty, there were professional “fine carving craftsmen”. Apprentices needed at least four years to learn a variety of technical skills related to gold, such as gold casting, gold beating, gold plating, gold weaving, gold overlaying, gold powdering, gold twisting, gold annealing, gold circling, gold attaching, gold inlaying, and many others. Most of these techniques are still being passed down to this day. Many of the gold objects unearthed from the Tang Dynasty reveal one or more techniques used in today’s filigree inlay, such as hammering, engraving, filigree, hollowing out, inlaying, granulation, welding, and gilding. In addition, the patterns of the Han and Tang Dynasty gold objects have also laid an important foundation for the development of filigree inlay patterns.