Chinese Brass Silk Iron-Dragon Relief-Painted Enamel Handle-Antique-Charcoal

Compact brass silk iron with undulating rim and a small rest lug, the body cast in relief with a writhing five-clawed dragon. The tubular handle is a pressed/brass sleeve finished in cold-painted enamel—a hand-applied paint/enamel coating over raised designs (commonly termed “raised enamel” in the trade), featuring blossoms on a cobalt ground with a matching end cap. Marked CHINA underneath—an export mark used after the 1891 McKinley Tariff and typical through the late Qing/Republic era—dating this piece to circa 1900–1930. These charcoal-heated irons were used to smooth silks, ribbons, and fine garments and later sold as decorative curios for chinoiserie interiors. Size: 7.25 × 3.5 × 2". Origin: China. Condition: age-consistent polish marks; scattered enamel rubs/small losses; light interior spotting/verdigris; solid and displays well.