{"id":5578194878614,"title":"Antique Thai Silver-gilt Niello Cigar Case, Thailand (siam) – 1880","handle":"antique-thai-silver-gilt-niello-cigar-case-thailand-siam-1880","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eThe Niello case with removable cap and fine gilt flower-head ornamentation, with border at rims in plain gilt. Cases like these were used as part of the Thai betel set, probably to hold a cigar.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eBetel paraphernalia was made from a range of materials, including wood, brass and precious metals. The material used communicated the status of the user. The more expensive and elaborate the set, the more distinguished was its user. Niello work, with its mix of precious metals and its exquisite chasing, was reserved for the royal family and high officials. The set would be accepted only as a present from the king, and the owner would not be permitted to sell it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eNiello is made by punching in the surface around the main design and filling it with a mixture containing lead, copper and silver. The object is then place in a hot charcoal furnace where the mixture turns black and unites with the silver. After being brushed and polished the result is silver or silver-gilt designs on black ground.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eThis process is quite difficult due to the sulphurous fumes given off by the oven and the high temperature required. Due to these difficulties, in India and Burma silversmiths did not produce Nielloware very often. In Thailand, however, the silversmiths were quite proficient at producing Nielloware and it is often seen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eSources: Watt, George. Indian Art at Delhi 1903. London: John Murray, 1904. Nancy, Tingley. Doris Duke, The Southeast Asian Art Collection. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2003. Harry Tilley, The Silverwork of Burma, (Rangoon: The Superintendent, Government Printing Burma, 1902), 12-13.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eWeight: 54.4g, Height: 15.5cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eItem: #177\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-06T03:30:45+01:00","created_at":"2020-08-06T03:30:44+01:00","vendor":"Joseph Cohen Antiques","type":"Cigar Case","tags":["Sold Archive"],"price":0,"price_min":0,"price_max":0,"available":false,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":35628787335318,"title":"Default Title","option1":"Default Title","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"JC-CIGA-06853","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":false,"name":"Antique Thai Silver-gilt Niello Cigar Case, Thailand (siam) – 1880","public_title":null,"options":["Default Title"],"price":0,"weight":0,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/thailand-neillo-case.jpg?v=1596681120","\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/thailand-neillo-case-2.jpg?v=1596681121","\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/thailand-neillo-case-3.jpg?v=1596681121"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/thailand-neillo-case.jpg?v=1596681120","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":10562840133782,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":768,"width":768,"src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/thailand-neillo-case.jpg?v=1596681120"},"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":768,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/thailand-neillo-case.jpg?v=1596681120","width":768},{"alt":null,"id":10562840166550,"position":2,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":768,"width":768,"src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/thailand-neillo-case-2.jpg?v=1596681121"},"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":768,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/thailand-neillo-case-2.jpg?v=1596681121","width":768},{"alt":null,"id":10562840199318,"position":3,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":768,"width":768,"src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/thailand-neillo-case-3.jpg?v=1596681121"},"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":768,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/thailand-neillo-case-3.jpg?v=1596681121","width":768}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eThe Niello case with removable cap and fine gilt flower-head ornamentation, with border at rims in plain gilt. Cases like these were used as part of the Thai betel set, probably to hold a cigar.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eBetel paraphernalia was made from a range of materials, including wood, brass and precious metals. The material used communicated the status of the user. The more expensive and elaborate the set, the more distinguished was its user. Niello work, with its mix of precious metals and its exquisite chasing, was reserved for the royal family and high officials. The set would be accepted only as a present from the king, and the owner would not be permitted to sell it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eNiello is made by punching in the surface around the main design and filling it with a mixture containing lead, copper and silver. The object is then place in a hot charcoal furnace where the mixture turns black and unites with the silver. After being brushed and polished the result is silver or silver-gilt designs on black ground.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eThis process is quite difficult due to the sulphurous fumes given off by the oven and the high temperature required. Due to these difficulties, in India and Burma silversmiths did not produce Nielloware very often. In Thailand, however, the silversmiths were quite proficient at producing Nielloware and it is often seen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eSources: Watt, George. Indian Art at Delhi 1903. London: John Murray, 1904. Nancy, Tingley. Doris Duke, The Southeast Asian Art Collection. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2003. Harry Tilley, The Silverwork of Burma, (Rangoon: The Superintendent, Government Printing Burma, 1902), 12-13.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eWeight: 54.4g, Height: 15.5cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eItem: #177\u003c\/p\u003e"}