Toreutics

The term toreutics, relatively rarely used in English, refers to artistic metalworking – hammering gold or silver (or other materials), engraving, or using repoussé and chasing to form minute detailed reliefs or small engraved patterns. Toreutics can include metal-engraving – forward-pressure linear metal removal with a burin.

Toreutics is extremely ancient, and depending on the metal used will survive burial for periods of centuries better than art in many other materials. Conversely if above ground it was likely to be melted down and the metal reused. Until the Middle Ages it was also among the art forms with the highest prestige.

Archeological background
It was practised in the Bronze Age and was well established centuries before the shaft graves. Toureutic items of special quality from the Iron Age are the Certosa situla from Italy and from Slovenia the Vače situla and the Vače belt-plate. Toreutics flourished to an unusual degree among the peoples of Asia Minor, Assyria, Babylon, and passed from thence to ancient Persia. One spectacular example of the direct influence of Persia in toreutics is believed to be the Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós found in Transylvania in 1799, and considered to be work of Old Bulgarian gold smiths. It consists of 23 vessels and has been attributed to Attila's Huns, the Avars and Pechenegs. The majority of scholars however, consider it Bulgarian (Proto-Bulgarians, Bulgars), because of its runic inscriptions.

Etymology
Toreutics comes from Greek toreutikos: of metal work; from toreutos: worked in relief; from toreuein; to work in relief; from toreus: a boring tool, Proto-Indo-European *terə-. The art of working metal or other materials by the use of embossing and chasing to form minute detailed reliefs. The origin of toreutics goes back to 1830–40; < Gk toreutikós, equiv. to toreú(ein) 'to bore, chase, emboss' (v. deriv. of toreús graving tool) -tikos.

Applications

 * Greek style, Inscriptions on toreutics
 * Achaemenid–Persian–Sassanid style, Christian toreutics, Folk craftsmanship, Bulgaria
 * Beaten copper (Tibet)
 * Tsuba gold toreutics (1860) Mito school.