Kelantan silverwork
A.H. Hill, a scientist with training in both arts and sciences (M.A., B.Sc.), published this detailed technical and ethnographic study of Kelantan silverwork in the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1951, documenting the craft’s traditional techniques, patterns, and its revival under the Kelantan Arts and Crafts Depot in the early 1950s. The article argues that Kelantan silverwork constitutes a distinctive artistic tradition—superior in originality and workmanship to comparable Malay and Siamese production—rooted in feudal royal patronage and sustained through conservative but skilled craftsmanship.
Summary
Hill situates Kelantan silverwork within a broader history of Malay metalwork that has largely declined across the peninsula. He notes that the old silversmiths have mostly died out, leaving only scattered specimens and “meretricious imitations” as evidence of former skill, and that niello-ware (jadam/chutam) is no longer produced in Malaya (p. 97). The industry’s survival in Kelantan is attributed to the Kelantan Arts and Crafts Depot, directed by Mrs. Rentse, which provides marketing, pricing, and design suggestions while leaving craftsmen free to use their traditional patterns (p. 97). The majority of workers are based in Kampong Sireh, an upriver suburb of Kota Bharu, and a few on the west bank of the Kelantan River (p. 97).
The technical core of the article walks through the full production sequence. Hill describes the local system of weights (the bukat and the older saga keneri seed-based scale), the alloying of pure silver with ten per cent copper, the use of locally made clay crucibles and imported alternatives, and the distinctive cuttlefish (sotong) mould technique for producing exact replicas of small flat objects such as spoon handles (pp. 98–99). The filigree section details the mechanical wire-drawing process and the production of dawai pintal (twisted wire), while the engraving section catalogues nine specific gravers (pahat) used for different surface effects (pp. 100–103).
The patterns section identifies the principal motifs—bunga jawa, setapak lembing, naga, undok-undok—and traces their origins to Majapahit sculpture, Siamese shadow-play figures, Indian lotus conventions, and simple natural prototypes such as the half-coconut shell (pp. 103–104). Hill contrasts Kelantan work with the more flamboyant niello-ware of Ligor (Nakun Sri Thamarat), where he visited the state-supported Rong Rien Art School in February 1950, documenting the chutam enamelling process and the jealously guarded gold-inlay technique used there (pp. 104–107).
Key Findings
- The cuttlefish (sotong) mould technique—using dried cuttlefish carcases as one-use moulds for small flat objects—is described as “the nearest thing to mass production in the industry” and requires the carcase to be leached in running water for ten days before use (p. 99).
- Nine distinct gravers are catalogued by name and function: pahat pasir (knobbled surface), p. kuku (bold curves), p. pantat lipas (straight/curved outlines), p. betul (straight lines), p. jari chichak (crows’ feet), p. bunga (rosettes), p. bintang (stars), p. chichang (levelling borders), and p. mata (circular indentations) (p. 101).
- The saga keneri (Abrus precatorius) seed-based weight system remains in general use for weighing gems and precious metals, with thirty-two saga equaling one real (4 saga = 1 kupang = 12½ cents) (p. 98).
- Twisted wire (dawai pintal) is produced by applying torque via a sliding board to a flattened wire, achieving a maximum of 30–40 turns per inch at which point the wire “looks almost like a row of very fine silver beads” (p. 100).
- The Ligor niello-ware gold-inlay process involves dissolving gold leaf or dust in mercury to form an amalgam, rubbing it onto the silver surface, then heating in a forced-draught furnace to volatilize the mercury and leave a silver-gold amalgam (p. 106).
- The Rong Rien Art School at Nakun Sri Thamarat, entirely state-supported with Siamese instructors and apprentices aged 14–18 on a three-year course, averaged a monthly output of 400 bracelets and 200 belt buckles (p. 105).
Conclusion
Hill’s definitive takeaway is that Kelantan silverwork represents the finest surviving expression of indigenous Malay metalwork, distinguished by its “intricate fineness and the traditional patterns it uses” and by the individuality conferred upon each piece through the absence of division of labour (pp. 97–98). He positions it as superior in quality to the comparable but inferior plain silverwork of Bangkok, and as fundamentally different in aesthetic sensibility from the flamboyant, figure-heavy niello-ware of Ligor, concluding that the craft’s conservative adherence to proven motifs—some traceable to Majapahit sculpture six centuries old—constitutes not a deficiency but the very source of its artistic coherence (pp. 103–104, 107).
Context
- The article was received in August 1950 and published in the first part of Volume 24 of the JMBRAS, placing it in the immediate post-war period when colonial-era institutional support for Malay crafts was being reorganized; the Kelantan Arts and Crafts Depot under Mrs. Rentse represents one such intervention (p. 97).
- Hill’s visit to the Rong Rien Art School at Nakun Sri Thamarat (Ligor, southern Siam) in February 1950, accompanied by the Inspector of Malay Schools, provides one of the few first-hand Western accounts of the chutam production process and the school’s organizational structure at that time (pp. 104–105).