A Pair of Thai Gold Niello Metalwork Bowls with Base, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand 19th century

The bowls of deep rounded forms with flattened base, decorated throughout with hammered, engraved, niello-ed and gilded decoration, the base of the larger bowl with a fu-lion on a rocky outcrop surrounded by scrolling vegetation and lotus flowers, bordered by major and minor bands of floral and vegetal motifs, the sides similarly decorated, the base with lobed rim and fretwork foot decorated with a floral motif, the smaller bowl decorated with floral designs