A RARE AND LARGE GILDED SILVER NIELLO TEAPOT

A RARE AND LARGE GILDED SILVER NIELLO TEAPOTThailand, 19th century
The globular body resting on a large ring foot and surmounted by a lowered bell-shaped lid with a spherical knob, the high handle starting from the shoulder, the gilded decoration on the black ground consisting of leaf scrolls.
25 x 21 x 15 cm
Refined and precious artefacts of this type were made almost exclusively for the court, sometimes used as diplomatic gifts, such as the similar containers donated by King Rama IV to the president of the United States in 1856, now preserved at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington A.D..