Silver "Siam" Ring

[flash]

Silver "Siam" Ring

? Found this today.Says "STERLING 925 SIAM"? As you can see it has some strange but cool details.I did a search and found some jewelry with similar markings from the 1940s and 50's. Art Deco's name kept coming up also.I don't know who that is or if he has anything to do with it.

? But I do think this ring is old.I found it 8" down and the inlay was covered with patina.After some scrubbing it cleaned up nice.Siam is now called Thailand.Any info would be great.
Thanks.

 

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[beetle662]

Re: Silver "Siam" Ring

Cool ring, flash!

Happy Hunting!

 

[KevGA]

Re: Silver "Siam" Ring

What you appear to have is an art deco period (1920s-1930s) sterling ring depicting Mekala, the Lightning Godess.? Further examples of these designs and periods can be found here:

http://www.milkywayjewels.com/siam/siam.html

Some info on art deco as provided by the Art Deco Society of Washington ( http://www.adsw.org ):

art deco was a style that developed during the 1920s and 1930s it followed on from art nouveau. The designers who worked in this style wanted to reflect a modern image and the effect was that a much more streamlined form of design evoloved. We can recognise art deco through the folowing ways -
design sources - the inspiration for design came from ideas of movement, of machine technology and abstraction.

motifs used - certain motifs occur again and again in art deco, such as, the fan, chevron, zig zag and the most famous of all the sunburst motif.

colour - colour became much more bright and vibrant, quite differentfrom the pale pasel colours of art nouveau.

-- Hayley Tong (hayley_tong@hotmail.com), April 28, 2003.

A little more:

Art Deco, popular originally in the 1920s and 30s, took its name from the Exposition Internationale des Arts D?coratifs et Industriels Modernes, an exhibition held in Paris in 1925. There the style was first seen in the work of French designers who had been in experimenting and refining it for some years. Its origins are rooted in a reaction to the flowing motifs and fussiness of Art Nouveau with its emphasis on individual craftman made pieces. After the First World War people wanted a modern, functional style for their furniture, jewellery and decorative objects. More positively, it was influenced by the streamlined designs of ocean liners and industrial machinery. The Tutankamun Exhibition, held in Paris in 1922, also had an impact and there was a cross-fertilisation of ideas between architects and designers of costumes, stage and ballet sets, jewellery, furniture, ceramics and glass.
Many of the Art Deco designers rejected traditional materials for their work and chose instead to work with more unusual materials like ebony, steel, marble and rare and expensive types of wood. Their designs were geometric with clean unfussy lines. Art Deco was seen in many different areas like architecture, furniture, pottery, glass and jewellery

-- Jay (mano@post.com), July 10, 2001.

This all being said, after digging a little further I have discovered it may be from a slightly later period, as recently as the 70's.? There was a big movement in this design called "Nielloware".? To get a more certain ID email Charles Dittell: (cdittel@gate.net) he's a collector and has apparently written a book on the subject. Here's his site for more info: http://www.gate.net/~cdittel/siamenu.html

Beautiful find, enjoy it!

Kevin

 

[flash]

Re: Silver "Siam" Ring

Kevin,
Wow, Thanks for all the info.I sent an e-mail to that link asking about it.No reply yet,I will let you know when I get one.

Thanks again.

 

[flash]

Re: Silver "Siam" Ring

I got a reply from Charles Dittell. This is what he said:

"Hi, and thank you for writing. That's a very nice Siam sterling Nielloware ring (much like
one pictured in my book, "Overview of Siam Sterling Nielloware." It was probably produced
in the 1950s, and has a value of $15-$35 (more or less; although these items are rather
uncommon, there's not been a recent high demand for Nielloware. However, that could
change at any time!)."

Not really what I wanted to hear ,,but,Thank You Charles.And Thank You Kevin.

Its still a very cool Ring.When I seen these markings,I thought it could be tracked.Thats what makes this hobby fun.Not only finding,but then figuring what you have.

Thanks Again,,,da Flash

 

[KevGA]

Re: Silver "Siam" Ring

Very good!? I'm glad Charles could confirm it for you. Sorry it wasn't from the earlier period but hey, even at $35 that's not a bad return for your time!? Glad I could point you in the right direction, I agree that the "finding out" after the "finding" is just as exciting.? Keep up the super finds.

HH

Kevin

 

[BRD]

Re: Silver "Siam" Ring

Beautiful ring Flash,
One thing about metal detecting, you never know what you'll dig next. That really makes it interesting.
Keep up the good work,
BRD

 

[LarosnMullalyTresureHunte]

Re: Silver "Siam" Ring

I found a similar ring here in aussieland did you finally find out about yours mine looks like silver!!