Silver-gilt plated clasp for a belt, ornamented with large and small bosses, set with coloured pastes, Ottoman, 1850-1884.

Large three-part belt clasp made of copper which has been silver-plated and then gilded. The two outer parts are rectangular with the far end extended in the form of an arch. The surface is pierced and covered with filigree domes, with a red paste set in the top of the largest dome, in the centre. There are two loops on the bottom edge with a loose ring hanging from each. Two chains hang between the rings with four flat disc pendants with scalloped rims. The central part is square with a fan-shaped extension on the top edge, and a disc on the bottom. The front has a filigree dome in the centre, set with red, green and yellow pastes in a circle round a blue one on top, with smaller domes in each corner and on the two extensions. There is a loop in the centre of the bottom edge which holds a flat crescent-shaped pendant set with a blue paste. There are loops fastened to the inside edges of the two outer parts, and both sides of the central part, to allow a hinge fastening.

Bought from the collection of Gaston de Saint-Maurice (1831-1905) in 1884. Saint-Maurice displayed his extensive art collection at the 1878 Paris exhibition, in a gallery entitled L'Egypte des Khalifes. This was part of an official sequence of displays celebrating the history of Egypt, presented by the Egyptian state at this international event. Saint-Maurice held a position at the Khedival court, and had lived in Cairo in 1868-1878. Following the exhibition, Saint-Maurice offered his collection for sale to the South Kensington Museum (today the V&A).

This was described as ‘African? from Cairo’ when it was acquired by the Museum in 1884. If so, it may be Egyptian, as its shape, construction and decoration are Ottoman, and Ottoman influence did not extend far along the north African coast. It is more likely that it was made elsewhere in the Ottoman Empire. Large belt buckles were the most important part of the dowry throughout the Ottoman Empire, from the Balkans to the southern Caucasus.

950:1 to 3-1884