A GILDED SILVER NIELLO TEAPOT AND COVER AND A HINGED BOX AND COVER Siam, 19th century The cylindrical form teapot fitted with a liner, a split hinged loop handle to the shoulder and spout stopper attached to a chain, set on four bud feet, decorated overall with a dense floral and foliate design; the rectangular box with confronting dragons to the hinged cover on a similarly elaborate floral pattern ground. The teapot: 17.8cm (7in) high excluding the handle (3). 注脚 Provenance: Accompanying hand-written note stating that the teapot was presented to Admiral Sir Frederick L. Maitland KCB, by the King of Siam in 1838. A very similar example is in the Smithsonian Institution in the United States and was a gift of Siam's King Mongkut (Rama IV) in 1856 to the US President as part of the Harris Treaty with the United States. The Siamese Court gave gifts according to the rank of the recipient and that rank was based on Siamese equivalents. The niello technique is thought to have been introduced to Thailand either by the Portuguese or the Persians. Traders from both countries had an early presence in the Kingdom. Niello work became a speciality of the southern Thai city of Nakhon Si Thammarat.