Minimbah House is a heritage-listed mansion in Whittingham near Singleton, New South Wales .
36-480: C 1870 W.J. Dangar who was living at Neotsfield at the time, thought of pulling down the house and building a new one and had plans drawn up in London. However, due to the ill health of his wife Marian (not her death as has been incorrectly documented in the literature) he did not proceed with the implementation of these plans and consequently sold them to a neighbour , Duncan Forbes Mackay. Following some alterations to
72-599: A blowtorch ), after which the bits of wire curl up and take a natural spherical like shape to end up in minuscule grains which slightly differ one from the other. Small grains or beads of the same metals are often set in the eyes of volutes, on the junctions, or at intervals at which they will set off the wirework effectively. The more delicate work is generally protected by framework of stouter wire. Brooches , crosses, earrings , buttons and other personal ornaments of modern filigree are generally surrounded and subdivided by bands of square or flat metal, giving consistency to
108-664: A background and to plait or otherwise arranged jour . But, with the exception of chains, it cannot be said that filigree work was much practiced by them. Their experience was in their cloisonné work and their molded ornaments. Many examples, however, remain of round plaited gold chains of fine wire, such as those that are still made by the filigree workers of India , and known as trichinopoly chains. From some of these are hung smaller chains of finer wire with minute fishes and other pendants fastened to them. In ornaments derived from Phoenician sites, such as Cyprus and Sardinia , patterns of gold wire are laid down with great delicacy on
144-460: A band round the body of the vase, plaques on each handle and round the foot of the vase have a series of different designs of characteristic patterns, in fine filigree wire work wrought on the front of the repoussé ground. Much of the medieval jewel work all over Europe down to the 15th century, on reliquaries, crosses, croziers , and other ecclesiastical goldsmiths' work, is set off with bosses and borders of filigree. Filigree work in silver
180-666: A field in Staffordshire, England, on 5 July 2009 contains numerous examples of very fine filigree described by archaeologist Kevin Leahy as "incredible". Irish filigree work of the Insular period is more thoughtful in design and more extremely varied in pattern. The Royal Irish Academy in Dublin contains a number of reliquaries and personal jewels, of which filigree is the general and most remarkable ornament. The Tara Brooch , in
216-653: A gold ground, but the art was advanced to its highest perfection in the Greek and Etruscan filigree of the 6th to the 3rd centuries BC. A number of earrings and other personal ornaments found in central Italy are preserved in the Louvre and in the British Museum . Almost all of them are made of filigree work. Some earrings are in the form of flowers of geometric design, bordered by one or more rims each made up of minute volutes of gold wire, and this kind of ornament
252-559: A house cover one acre. The house is styled in Victorian Filigree with a cast iron verandah . The house has two stories made out of sandstone with a U-shaped floor plan. It has open French windows and an ornamental stone chimneys . The staircase is made of Australian cedar and rosewood which was hand carved in Germany . There are three small outbuildings with painted corrugated iron roofs. The stained windows are
288-494: A special branch of jewellery in modern times, it was historically part of the ordinary work of the jeweller. Indeed, all the jewellery of the Etruscans and Greeks (other than that intended for the grave, and therefore of an unsubstantial character) was made by soldering together and so building up the gold rather than by chiselling or engraving the material. Archaeological finds in ancient Mesopotamia indicate that filigree
324-796: Is a dying art. Also noted is silver filigree of Karimnagar in Telangana state. Passing to later times, there are in many collections of medieval jewel work reliquaries , covers for Gospel books , etc., made either in Constantinople from the 6th to the 12th centuries, or in monasteries in Europe, in which studied and imitated Byzantine goldsmiths' work. These objects, besides being enriched with precious stones, polished, but not cut into facets, and with enamels , are often decorated with filigree. Large surfaces of gold are sometimes covered with scrolls of filigree soldered on, and corner pieces of
360-579: Is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork . In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver , made with tiny beads or twisted threads, or both in combination, soldered together or to the surface of an object of the same metal and arranged in artistic motifs. It often suggests lace and remains popular in Indian and other Asian metalwork. It was popular as well in Italian, French and Portuguese metalwork from 1660 to
396-403: Is certain that the Indian filigree workers retain the same patterns as those of the ancient Greeks and work them in the same way, down to the present day. Wandering workmen are given so much gold, coined or rough, which is weighed, heated in a pan of charcoal , beaten into wire, and then worked in the courtyard or verandah of the employer's house according to the designs of the artist, who weighs
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#1732798793508432-705: Is covered with plaited and netted gold wipe, finished with a sort of Corinthian capital and a boss of green glass. It is probable that in India , Iran (in Zanjan , this handicraft is called malileh ) and various parts of central Asia filigree has been worked from the most remote period without any change in the designs. Whether the Asiatic jewellers were influenced by the Greeks who settled on that continent, or merely trained under traditions held in common with them, it
468-482: Is varied by slight differences in the way of disposing the number or arrangement of the volutes. But the feathers and petals of modern Italian filigree are not seen in these ancient designs. Instances occur, but only rarely, in which filigree devices in wire are self-supporting and not applied to metal plates. The museum of the Hermitage at Saint Petersburg contains a large collection of Scythian jewellery from
504-472: The Ionian Islands and many other parts of Greece . That of the Greeks is sometimes on a large scale, with several thicknesses of wires alternating with larger and smaller bosses and beads, sometimes set with turquoises , and mounted on convex plates, making rich ornamental headpieces, belts, and breast ornaments. Filigree silver buttons of wire-work and small bosses are worn by the peasants in most of
540-574: The Middle East and are not thought to have been produced in the region at that time. Filigree began to be produced in Portugal in the 8th century with the arrival of Arab migrants, who brought new patterns with them. With time, the peninsula began to produce different filigree patterns, but while in Spain the filigree jewellery-making tradition became less relevant, in Portugal it was perfected. After
576-519: The National Museum of Ireland , has been copied and imitated numerous since the mid 19th century; Queen Victoria had a copy made in the late 1840s. Instead of fine curls or volutes of gold thread, Irish filigree is varied by numerous designs by which one thread can be traced through curious knots and complications, which, disposed over large surfaces, balance one another, but always with special varieties and arrangements difficult to trace with
612-432: The 18th century, Portuguese Filigree already had its own distinctive imagery, motifs and shapes. Filigree from the 17th and 18th centuries became famous for their extraordinary complexity. Gold and silver filigree jewellery of delicate and artistic design is still made in considerable quantities throughout the country, particularly filigree hearts, which are iconic symbols of Portuguese jewellery-making. Filigree work
648-562: The borders of book covers, or the panels of reliquaries, are frequently made up of complicated pieces of plaited work alternating with spaces encrusted with enamel. Byzantine filigree work occasionally has small stones set amongst the curves or knots. Examples of such decoration can be seen in the Victoria and Albert , and British Museums. Examples include the Cross of Lothair in Aachen . In
684-533: The complete work on restoring it and is paid at a specified rate for his labour. Very fine grains or beads and spines of gold, scarcely thicker than coarse hair, projecting from plates of gold are methods of ornamentation still used. Cuttack , of the eastern Indian state Odisha , features traditional filigree work Known as tarakasi in the Odia language , most filigree work revolves around images of deities, though due to lack of patronage and modern design ideas, it
720-530: The countries that produce this kind of jewellery. Silver filigree brooches and buttons are also made in Denmark , Norway , and Sweden . Little chains and pendants are added to much of this northern work. The oldest filigree pieces discovered in the Iberian Peninsula date back to 2000–2500 BC, but its origin is not clear. These pieces possibly belonged to merchants and navigators originally from
756-429: The day," meaning open to the daylight) is an openwork metalworking technique similar to filigree , which leaves open spaces in the worked metal. Unlike filigree, the holes are usually sawed or pierced through solid metal rather than being incorporated during the process of construction. This technique also differs from plique-à-jour enamelling in that the open spaces are not filled with enamel, but left open. The result
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#1732798793508792-477: The early 2000s restoration was overseen by Newcastle heritage architect Barney Collins. In 1823 Duncan Forbes Mackay bought the property from John Cobb that was 2,000 acres. According to local stories Mackay built the house after not being invited to party the Dangar family property Baroona. After Mackay died in 1894 the property was sold to the mining magnate Sylvester Brown in 1901. In 1915 John Morrissey brought
828-433: The eye. The long thread appears and disappears without breach of continuity, the two ends generally worked into the head and the tail of a serpent or a monster. The reliquary containing the "Bell of Saint Patrick " is covered with knotted work in many varieties. A two-handled chalice, called the " Ardagh Chalice " found near Limerick in 1868, is ornamented with work of this kind of extraordinary fineness. Twelve plaques on
864-468: The filling up, which would not otherwise keep its proper shape. "Filigree" has been used metaphorically as a term for intricate ornamental designs in a number of other contexts, including larger-scale metalwork such as wrought iron or cast iron pieces such as railings and balustrades . In Polish, the term "filigranowy" or "filigranowa" (lit. "filigree") is used to describe people with a petite body. Ajoure Ajouré or à jour (French for "to
900-408: The first to feature native Australian animals. There is surveillance tower which was used as look out for bushrangers with a hide away for children . Duncan Forbes Mackay expanded the property to 30,000 acres soon after purchasing it. In 1932/33 Mrs Birdsall redecorated Minimbah throughout, including ceiling to floor heavy velvet hand embraided curtains, a hand painted wisteria mural feature wall in
936-414: The ground, by means of flux such as borax , by the help of the blowpipe . When granulated motifs are desired, small beads are made traditionally by using precious metal wire or fine sheet to start with, which is cut up in small pieces mixed with flux and placed in the small holes of a pitted block of charcoal (or any other suitable refractory material) and are then melted with a blowpipe (or today with
972-475: The late 19th century. It should not be confused with ajoure jewellery work; the ajoure technique consisting of drilling holes in objects made of sheet metal. The English word filigree is shortened from the earlier use of filigreen which derives from Latin filum meaning thread and granum grain, in the sense of small bead. The Latin words gave filigrana in Italian which itself became filigrane in 17th-century French. Though filigree has become
1008-538: The north of Europe, the Saxons , Britons and Celts were from an early period skillful in several kinds of goldsmiths ' work. Admirable examples of filigree patterns laid down in wire on gold, from Anglo-Saxon tombs, may be seen in the British Museum, notably a brooch from Dover , and a sword-hilt from Cumberland . The Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver (estimated 700 CE) discovered in
1044-528: The original plans by Benjamin Backhouse the magnificent mansion "Minimbah was constructed between 1874 and 1877. Marian Dangar died on the 22nd July 1881 aged 51 some 4 years following the completion of Minimbah homestead and which time having a constant view in the distance of what could have been her new home, (ref Gregory Knodler "Henry Dangar's Neotsfield 1825 - 2015) The property sits on 48 hectares and contains 45 rooms. The mansion 3000 square metres with
1080-633: The property and later sold it to Mr Foden. In 1932 Mr. J.W. Birdsall purchased Dulcalmah/Minimbah and 1,200 acres and substantially redecorated it. In 1940 Minimbah was seconded by the Australian Army for training purposes(?). Mr. Birdsall died March 1945 and Minimbah was handed back to Mrs Birdsall in August 1945. Many of the PC items had been stripped from the house (crystal door handles, and brass wear etc) and left in an appalling condition. Mrs Birdsall
1116-494: The sitting room, two Italian Marble urns on marble pedestals at each side of the stairway. /> In 1973 saw the property restored and also the addition of swimming pool , stables and horse yards, concrete tennis court and landscaping . The 1973 restoration project cost about $ 1 million. In June 1997 a heritage 2001 application was lodged to the Heritage Office in order to complete general repairs and maintenance. In
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1152-460: The tombs of the Crimea . Many bracelets and necklaces in that collection are made of twisted wire, some in as many as seven rows of plaiting, with clasps in the shape of heads of animals of beaten work. Others are strings of large beads of gold, decorated with volutes, knots and other patterns of wire soldered over the surfaces. In the British Museum a sceptre , probably that of a Greek priestess,
1188-674: Was brought to Great Britain from Abyssinia after the Battle of Magdala : armguards, slippers, and cups, some of which are now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. They are made of thin plates of silver, over which the wirework is soldered. The filigree is subdivided by narrow borders of simple pattern, and the intervening spaces are made up of many patterns, some with grains set at intervals. The art may be said to consist in curling, twisting and plaiting fine pliable threads of metal, and uniting them at their points of contact with each other, and with
1224-586: Was incorporated into jewellery since 3,000 BC. Specific to the city of Midyat in Mardin Province in upper Mesopotamia, a form of filigree using silver and gold wires, known as "telkari", was developed in the 15th century. Examples of historic artwork can be seen in the Midyat Filigree Museum . To this day, expert craftsmen in this region continue to produce fine pieces of telkari. Egyptian jewellers employed wire, both to lay down on
1260-823: Was practised by the Moors of Spain during the Middle Ages with great skill, and was introduced by them and established all over the Iberian Peninsula, hence it was carried to the Spanish colonies in America. The manufacture spread over the Balearic Islands , and among the populations that border the Mediterranean . It is still made all over Italy , and in Portugal , Malta , North Macedonia , Albania ,
1296-675: Was so appalled she sold it to the Australian Inland Mission Bible Society at a give away price. > In 1973 Marie and Alwyn Wells purchased the property. In 1982 Frank Richwood purchased the property for $ 300,000 and lived for 11 years. In 1994 it was purchased by Bliss Ryan for $ 940,000. In 2007 the property was sold for $ 3.21 million. 32°37′45″S 151°11′48″E / 32.6291°S 151.1968°E / -32.6291; 151.1968 Filigree Filigree (also less commonly spelled filagree , and formerly written filigrann or filigrene )
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