Waist Clasp thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Waist Clasp

1800-1899 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Elaborate and costly waist clasps were worn by married women with their traditional dress throughout the lands of the former Ottoman Empire, from the north Balkans to the Caucasus. They were usually attached to a cloth belt which the owner made herself.

This clasp was described as possibly Turkish when it was acquired by the Museum in 1905. Neither it nor the domed filigree belt mounts which accompanied it are typical of Turkish belts. It may be a design which has now died out, or it may have come from elsewhere in the region, such as Syria.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Cloak Clasp
  • Cloak Clasp
Materials and techniques
Silver filigree set with a turquoise paste and coral beads
Brief description
Silver filigree clasp of two domes with a turquoise paste and chains ending in coral beads, Turkey, 1800-1899.
Physical description
Silver clasp consisting of two deep domes of open filigree decorated with applied granules and coil rings. One part has a small dome attached at the side covering a loop and there is a corresponding sideways hook attached to the other part. The small central dome has a turquoise paste in the centre and a loop at the bottom, from which hangs a pendant of three quatrefoil chains with coral beads at their ends. There are three loops for attachment on the back of each of the two large domed parts.
Summary
Elaborate and costly waist clasps were worn by married women with their traditional dress throughout the lands of the former Ottoman Empire, from the north Balkans to the Caucasus. They were usually attached to a cloth belt which the owner made herself.

This clasp was described as possibly Turkish when it was acquired by the Museum in 1905. Neither it nor the domed filigree belt mounts which accompanied it are typical of Turkish belts. It may be a design which has now died out, or it may have come from elsewhere in the region, such as Syria.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
982&A-1905

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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