Bracelets

Antique niello silver oval hinged buckle and belt bangle with a checkerboard and dot niello pattern contrasting with a striped buckle and belt.

Niello is an alloy of sulphur with copper, silver or lead which is applied to the incised surface of another metal- commonly a silver amalgam- and fused to create an enamel like pattern in black/grey tones with a metallic lustre. It is a centuries old technique but was particularly popular in France and Russia at the end of the nineteenth century.