Throughout the lands of the former Ottoman Empire, from the north Balkans to the Caucasus, large and elaborate waist clasps were the most important item in a woman’s dowry. These clasps come in a small number of basic shapes. This one is shaped like stylised tulips, a favourite Ottoman motif. It was worn with the pointed part facing upwards, and was fastened by a pin, which attached the right-hand piece to the rest of the clasp. The two chains, which join the pin to the clasp, hung down decoratively over the front of the clasp when it was fastened.

It was described as Circassian when it was acquired in 1854, but it is more likely to have come from Turkey itself, or the Balkans. The fine filigree and the use of enamel, on the central bosses and the pendants on the chain, suggest that it may have been made by a Greek or Armenian silversmith. The Armenians were famous for their silver-work in the 19th century. They were widely dispersed outside their homeland in the south Caucasus, and produced jewellery, particularly filigree, in traditional styles for many other nationalities and faiths (they were proudly Orthodox Christian themselves).