Philippines · Jewelry / Metalwork
Pilak nga Trabaho / Gaddang / Ibaloi Silverwork
Baguio City — UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2017 — is the center of Cordillera metalwork tradition, bringing together the silversmithing and jewelry-making traditions of the Ibaloi, Bontoc, Ifugao, and other Cordillera peoples. The Cordillera silverwork tradition produces the hinabing (woven silver), the lingling-o (crescent ear ornament), and elaborate headdress ornaments using a specific hammering and wire-drawing technique. The lingling-o — a distinctive double-headed crescent form symbolizing fertility and protection — is made by cold-hammering silver sheet over a specific wooden form (no heat forming) to produce a curved profile that follows the ear's concha. The cold-hammering technique requires more precise controlled blows than heated forming — each blow both shapes and work-hardens the silver simultaneously.
Risk level: Endangered · Within Baguio UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art designation (2017); not separately inscribed
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