VINTAGE SIAM SILVER NIELLO JEWELRY Bracelet, circa 20 Century

Good Evening CW Friends Collector----11:00PM)2016-12-29
Yesterday at value Village, i found another very interesting piece of jewellery, a Siam Niello Bracelet depicting dancing figures, alway's nice to learn something new, specially when you start a new passion, no difference with this piece, as i discover they are very collectable and they could be found in many enamel colour, the more common was Niello( black)

Niello is more like an amalgam/ metal alloy than a true enamel, usually being a mixture of silver, copper, lead and sulfur. The term ‘niello’ has Latin origins (developing from the words nigellus, Latin for black).

What is the story behind Siam Silver jewellery?

The main characters you will see in Siam Silver jewellery are Mekkala, The Goddess of Lightening, and Ramasoon, the Thunder God. I read on a Thailand holiday forum, that they are from a mythological tale told to many Thailand children about the origins of thunder and lightening (and not from the Ramayana, as is sometimes suggested):

Ramasoon fell in love with the beautiful Mekkala, but she didn’t love him back. In a jealous rage, he threw his axe at her so he could injure and capture her, but Mekkala was able to defend herself with her famous magical crystal ball. As the axe struck this ball, it created a massive flash of light. This was the first ever lightening. Defeated, Ramasoon created darkness and rain so he could retreat undercover. He still waits for Mekkala to this day. When he sees her, Ramasoon once again throws his axe to injure and capture her, though is always thwarted by the crystal ball that defends Mekkala and flashes brightly as the axe hits it.

Figures depicted on this bracelet are :

Mekkala, Goddess of Lightening.

Thepanom, a Thailand Guardian Angel deity

Elephant, the God Indra riding Erawen

Ramasoon, the God of Thunder

Matcha, the Mermaid Queen

Mark on the claps"Alpha Siam Sterling"

This bracelet is 7 inch long by.75 inch.

Many Thanks Everyone for Viewing.
Alan

--------An introduction to Siam Silver jewellery – what exactly is it?----------

If you’ve ever come across big black enameled jewellery depicting dancing figures, then it might be a piece of Siam Silver jewellery. These stunning creations were hand made in Siam (now called Thailand), and the figures, buildings or animals created in the jewellery usually depict characters and scenes from Buddhist and Hindu tales and religious text. The country of Siam changed its name to Thailand in 1939, changing it back to Siam in 1945, and then was finally renamed Thailand in 1949. The above photo shows a typical “Mekkalah, Goddess of Lightening” Siam Silver vintage niello brooch. Jewellery is usually stamped ‘Made in Siam‘ on the back, though later pieces were could be stamped either ‘Siam’ and ‘Thailand’.

Most Siam jewellery you find is made from some grade of silver (often 925 sterling), with black ‘enamel ‘ style detail. The black and silver jewellery is called Siam Silver nielloware, after the black enamel style technique called niello used in its creation. Occasionally you may see fabulous coloured Siam Silver, with green, blue, red and white enameling instead of black niellowork.