Despite the colonial taste for English fashions, the only American colonial filigree know today was made in Boston between the 1690′s and the 1750′s. English girls made filigree coats-of-arms and the earliest Boston example is 1693. [...] Click here to continue reading.]]> Filigree or Quillwork

Rolled paper-work, originally known as filigree (and, occasionally, quillwork in America), became a schoolgirl pursuit in England following the restoration of Charles II in 1660. It remained a popular activity well into the 18th century.

Despite the colonial taste for English fashions, the only American colonial filigree know today was made in Boston between the 1690′s and the 1750′s. English girls made filigree coats-of-arms and the earliest Boston example is 1693. Sconces depicting flower-filled urns, however, became the most popular form of this craft in Boston.

Presently thirty-one existing sconces have been recorded (seventeen single pieces and seven pairs), but only eleven have their makers fully identified. All but two of these sconces are presently in museums.