Featured Name for this style of Indian wood & silver bangle?

Hello Worldly Boarders,
I have a pair of wood and sterling (tested) bangles which came in a cardboard/metal corners box. The box is stamped with the name "Dhanamal Chellaram, Jeweller, Silk & Curio Merchant" in "Fort, Bombay". I am assuming the bangles were purchased from this vendor.

Is there a name for this kind of bracelet? Anyone have an idea of the wood species or age? There are non-English/non-numerical marks on each one, I have included photos but I can't say which way the marks should be oriented. I also included the tag with hand-writing. I imagine it may name the item or at least the price?

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

They're just bangles I think.

 

Think @Any Jewelry knows about these.

 

More than Indian, they rather look like Chinese rattan or bamboo silver bangles!

 

Marks are Chinese, box looks Raj period, 20s ish. One tag says 1/14 pair.

 

Found shop in 1918 and 1923.

Debora

 

Oh, drat! I wrote an extended reply but I wasn't signed in so it's gone! Well, I'll condense: Thanks to all!

I see the Chinese influence and found eBay pieces labeled Chinese but none from India! Of course, Google search for "Indian" gives you all kinds of American Indian items too, boo! I was wondering if the wood is rattan or bamboo, may not be important.

So, we have some possibly Chinese bangles in a Bombay box. I'm perplexed. I'll wait for a response from @Any Jewelry before I try to decide how to define it.

 

A box can't identify a provenance, unless it is consistent with era, provenance and obviously fitted for the piece as in old parure cases where you can see the imprint of the jewels
Example:

 

Beautiful, Curioser. I'm with @kyratango and @Ownedbybear , definitely Chinese, and rattan and silver. Bangles were often worn in pairs, and could be given as dowry or wedding gifts. I don't know if these were wedding related.

I also agree with kyra, there is no way of knowing the bangles were originally sold in the box.

The marks look pretty illegible, but I'll tag @Asian Fever anyway, hoping there is enough there to make out what it says.

 

So sweet but I would suspect box + bangles a marriage.

Debora

 

Like as not, but why can't Chinese jewellery be sold in an Indian jewellery shop? Indian jewellery is sold in the US, not to mention plenty from China.

 

Yes, of course. But in that era... Hard for me to imagine the circumstances where a Chinese bangle would be imported to India for sale.

Debora

 

Thought China has been trading for a very long time. Marco Polo & all that. If they wanted ivory, India was the place to get it.

 

I don't question the fact that there was trade between India and China.

Debora

 

I'm on the fence about the bangles plus box. India has always made plenty of jewelry, but women like variety so some enterprising jeweler might have imported some just because.

 

The author of the blog 'Indian Silver during the Raj' has posted a silver bowl by D. Chellaram, Bombay and is looking for information about the silversmith. You might want to share you box and bangles with him. At the very least, it will provide him with a first name and address.

http://silverfromindia1850-1920.blogspot.com/p/indian-silver-from-lucknow.html

Debora

 

Ah, here's information. At a glance, appears "global" firm with significant trading with China. Your bangles may well have been one of the "curios" on offer.

http://www.dchellaram.com/images/images/2-Cambridge Studies in History and Society.pdf

Debora

 

During the Raj, enterprising shops in India imported all manner of things to sell to the memsahib. That box is a giveaway: the word curios. This wasn't a shop which sold to locals, for want of a better word. Indian women wanted and still want gold.

 

The mentions I found on the internet were all from trade directories for foreigners.

Debora

 

Which makes perfect sense.