The introduction to the Treatises has a naive opening:  “What first prompted me to write was the knowledge of how fond people are of hearing anything new.”  This, and other reasons, induced him to “write about those loveliest secrets and wondrous methods of the great art of goldsmithing.”

Francis I. indeed thought highly of Cellini.  Upon viewing one of his works, his Majesty raised his hands, and exclaimed to the Mareschal de France, “I command you to give the first good fat abbey that falls vacant to our Benvenuto, for I do not want my kingdom to be deprived of his like.”

Benvenuto describes the process of making filigree work, the principle of which is, fine wire coiled flat so as to form designs with an interesting and varied surface.  Filigree is quite common still, and any one who has walked down the steep street of the Goldsmiths in Genoa is familiar with most of its modern forms.  Cellini says:  “Though many have practised the art without making drawings first, because the material in which they worked was so easily handled and so pliable, yet those who made their drawings first did the best work.  Now give ear to the way the art is pursued.”  He then directs that the craftsman shall have ready three sizes of wire, and some little gold granules, which are made by cutting the short lengths of wire, and then subjecting them to fervent heat until they become as little round beads.  He then explains how the artificer must twist and mould the delicate wires, and tastily apply the little granules, so as to make a graceful design, usually of some floriate form.  When the wire flowers and leaves were formed satisfactorily, a wash of gum tragacanth should be applied, to hold them in place until the final soldering.  The solder was in powdered form, and it was to be dusted on “just as much as may suffice,... and not more,"... this amount of solder could only be determined by the experience of the artist.  Then came the firing of the finished work in the little furnace; Benvenuto is here quite at a loss how to explain himself:  “Too much heat would move the wires you have woven out of place,” he says, “really it is quite impossible to tell it properly in writing; I could explain it all right by word of mouth, or better still, show you how it is done,—­still, come along,—­we’ll try to go on as we started!”

Sometimes embossing was done by thin sheets of metal being pressed on to a wooden carving prepared for the purpose, so that the result would be a raised silver pattern, which, when filled up with pitch or lead, would pass for a sample of repousse work.  I need hardly say that a still simpler mechanical form of pressing obtains on cheap silver to-day.

So much for the mechanical processes of treating these metals.  We will now examine some of the great historic examples, and glance at the lives of prominent workers in gold and silver in the past.