Vintage Siam Sterling Silver Clip-On Earrings -- Nielloware

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This antique pair of clip-on earrings is a rare find.

Each one if 23mm wide

They are sterling silver and made with an ancient Siamese method called Niello.

The whole earring is SOLID sterling silver with the black enamelling detail

They weigh 6g in total

Here is some info I found on ebay on this type of jewellery

The technique of creating Niello involves carving a design pattern into silver & leaving the pattern reliefed or raised out off the silver, then using the ' Niello Inlay ' to fill in the lower segment of the piece - the piece is then baked so the alloy hardens (old process was in an open fire) - it's then polished / sanded smooth and at that point the artist can add extra intricate hand-done details.

Niello is an alloy (black metallic) containing sulphur, copper, silver (& lead) - it's used as inlay on basemetals which are typically engraved - Niello can be used as a filler & usually is seen in cut-metal  or reticulated designwork.

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