A kind of enrichment on gold or silver, wrought delicately in manner of little threads or grains, or both intermixed. In Sumatra, manufactures of this kind are carried on to very great perfection. But what renders this a matter of great curiosity is, that the tools made use of are very coarse and clumsy. The gold is melted in a crucible of their own forming, and instead of bellows, they blow with their mouths through a piece of bamboo. They draw and flatten the wire in a manner similar to that of Europeans. It is then twisted, and thus a flower, or the shape of a flower, is formed. Patterns of them or of foliage are first prepared on paper, of the size of the gold plate on which the filagree is to be laid. According to this, they begin to dispose on the plate the larger compartments of the foliage, for which they use plain flat wire of a larger size, and fill them up with their leaves. A gelatinous substance is used to fix the work, and after the leaves have been placed in order, and stuck on bit by bit, a solder is prepared of gold filings and borax, moistened with water, which they strew over the plate, and then putting it on the fire a short time, the whole becomes united.

When the filagree is finished, it is cleaned with a solution of salt and alum in water.

The Chinese make most of their filagree of silver, which looks very elegant, but is deficient in the extraordinary delicacy of Malay work.