Gold niello wash bowl tray

The exhibitions sent by King Chulalongkorn and his royal commissions were not only an opportunity to demonstrate the mastery of Siamese artisans and to spur trade interest in his nation’s commodities, but they were also gestures of goodwill that, much like earlier gifts, communicated the mutual esteem between his kingdom and the United States.
Gift from King Chulalongkorn to the Smithsonian Institution, 1876