niello

American  

[nee-el-oh] / niˈɛl oʊ /

noun

plural

nielli

1. a black metallic substance, consisting of silver, copper, lead, and sulfur, with which an incised design or ground is filled to produce an ornamental effect on metal.

2. ornamental work so produced.

3. a specimen of such work.

4. a print on paper made from an incised metal plate before the application of niello and associated especially with 15th-century Italy.

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verb (used with object)

nielloed, nielloing

1. to decorate by means of niello; treat with niello or by the niello process.

niello British  

/ nɪˈɛləʊ /

noun

1. a black compound of sulphur and silver, lead, or copper used to incise a design on a metal surface

2. the process of decorating surfaces with niello

3. a surface or object decorated with niello

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verb

1. (tr) to decorate or treat with niello

Other Word Forms

• niellist noun

Etymology

Origin of niello

1810–20; < Italian < Latin nigellus blackish, diminutive of niger black

Example Sentences

A few years later, his student Giampaolo Babetto constructed a necklace of hinged golden cubes marked with smoky black niello.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2024

Dr Mark Redknap, from National Museum Wales, said: "Silver brooches decorated with niello were popular across medieval Wales and this small example may have fastened clothing made of fine cloth."

From BBC • Sep. 30, 2021

Bangkok's shops were bulging with niello silverware, hand-woven silks, carved teak heads and snakeskin bags.

From Time Magazine Archive

The one-armed smith had left few personal effects: the cup, six pennies and a copper star, a niello brooch with a broken clasp, a musty brocade doublet that bore the stag of Storm’s End.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

On his belt hung a neatly wound whip and a niello sheath for the dagger in his hand.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros