Midyat Filigree Museum

Midyat Filigree Museum (Midyat Telkâri Müzesi) is an art museum in Midyat, Mardin Province, southeastern Turkey, exhibiting handcrafted silver filigree (Telkâri). Opened in late 2023, it is owned and operated by the local municipality.

Overview
The museum is located in the Ulus St. of Akçakaya neighborhood in Midyat district of Mardin Province, southeastern Turkey. It is situated in a 1850-built house of Assyrian Gelle Hirmız family, which was donated to the Municipality of Midyat. The museum was established by the local municipality, and opened to the public on 10 December 2023.

In the museum, handcrafted silver filigree artwork from the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, ottoman Empire periods and the Republican era are on display.

There is a workshop inside the museum, where visitors can observe the silversmithing, and also participate in handcrafting.

The museum offers filigree artwork for sale to the visitors.

History
The art of silversmithing in the region goes back to around three millemium B.C. The thousands of years old artwork in the museum are examples from Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Silverware was used in the history as kitchen items due to its anti bacterial property, and also as decorative items. Silver was used during the Roman period to prevent water in ornamental pools from gathering algae. The art of filigree is the hand embroidery of Assyrian masters from Midyat, shaped by the master-apprentice relationship throughout history.

Filigree artwork
The silver wires used for handcrafted filigree artwork are melted at 950 Celsius, and thinned by reducing the diameter  to 0.022 mm.

Filigree masters from Midyat handcraft bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings, belts, rosaries, keychains, objects containing religious symbols, kitchen objects, jewelry and ornaments decorated in different ways designed with plant patterns and geometric symbols using traditional techniques with great mastery.