Belt
20th century (made)
| Place of origin |
A silver belt (arapatta) made from large double interlocking wire links, fastened by a hook and buckle. The fastenings are attached to hinged silver plaques elaborately decorated with filigree wirework. The plaques at the hook end are inset with nine contrasting gold-coloured metal medallions stamped to resemble loosely American dollars, and inscribed 'TRUST INGOD', encircled with olive branches. There are also small red and black glass stones inset in between the medallions. The end of the links at the buckle end of the belt has two inscriptions of possible names chiselled one on top of one another onto the hinged end plate, making them difficult to decipher.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver and glass, wirework filigree, chain wirework |
| Brief description | Silver flexible chain belt from Kerala |
| Physical description | A silver belt (arapatta) made from large double interlocking wire links, fastened by a hook and buckle. The fastenings are attached to hinged silver plaques elaborately decorated with filigree wirework. The plaques at the hook end are inset with nine contrasting gold-coloured metal medallions stamped to resemble loosely American dollars, and inscribed 'TRUST INGOD', encircled with olive branches. There are also small red and black glass stones inset in between the medallions. The end of the links at the buckle end of the belt has two inscriptions of possible names chiselled one on top of one another onto the hinged end plate, making them difficult to decipher. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Dr W. Ganguly |
| Object history | This belt is part of the large donation of Indian folk jewellery from Dr Waltraud Ganguly which was collected over the last few decades before her death in 2015 from dealers in both India and Europe, in parallel with extensive fieldwork she carried out in the Indian Sub-Continent. It was bought from Ashok Kumar, at the Silver Moon, 59-60 Palika Bazar, New Delhi in the summer of 1995 for 350 DM. It was shown at the exhibition in the Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau, Germany, 18 October 2013 - 18 January 2014. |
| Historical context | This belt would have been worn by a Muslim woman according to Oppi Untracht (1997) who illustrates a similar belt. He notes that 'the belt closes by passing the end through the buckle, then engaging its inverted hook into the chain links'. |
| Bibliographic references |
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.252-2019 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | April 29, 2015 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
