Many grand civilisations inhabited the Near East, their wealth and prosperity is witnessed by the very sophisticated precious metal crafting of jewellery. Gold would have been hammered down into a thin layer and manipulated into different shape. The repoussé and chasing techniques were used to create designs in high and low relief by hammering shapes into the metal from either the front or the reverse. Gold and silver jewellery were also enriched with gold granules, glass, and semi-precious stone inlays with detailed engravings. Very fine granulation along with filigree, were at the centre of Near Eastern and Western Asiatic jewellery production and were later adopted by the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans.
To discover more about ancient metalwork, please see our relevant blog post:Decorative Metalwork Techniques
