Belt clasp
Belt Fittings
1800-1850 (made)
1800-1850 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
These silver discs, decorated with niello, are among the first pieces of European traditional jewellery acquired by the Museum in 1853. In fact, they were acquired before the Museum even existed, by its predecessor, the Department of Science and Arts Museum, and the paper label of that museum can still be found on the back of one of them.
They were made in what is now Epirus, in northern Greece, or Albania. They were described as ‘modern Turkish’ at the time, as both places were still part of the Ottoman Empire in 1853. They are part of a belt fitting. A narrow leather strap would have hooked over the bar on one part, to attach it to the belt, and the rod on the back of the other part may have been inserted through a hole to secure the belt, although that is an unusual way to fasten an Albanian clasp. Albanian clasps were briefly very popular in Britain in the 1870s, after the fashionable Bond Street jeweller, W. H. Thornhill, included one in his Christmas range in 1874.
They were made in what is now Epirus, in northern Greece, or Albania. They were described as ‘modern Turkish’ at the time, as both places were still part of the Ottoman Empire in 1853. They are part of a belt fitting. A narrow leather strap would have hooked over the bar on one part, to attach it to the belt, and the rod on the back of the other part may have been inserted through a hole to secure the belt, although that is an unusual way to fasten an Albanian clasp. Albanian clasps were briefly very popular in Britain in the 1870s, after the fashionable Bond Street jeweller, W. H. Thornhill, included one in his Christmas range in 1874.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Belt clasp (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | cast silver with niello decoration |
| Brief description | Two circular silver and niello belt fittings hinged together, Albania, 1800-1850. |
| Physical description | Silver and niello belt fittings, consisting of two cast discs hinged together. Each part is raised in a dome in its centre, with a flat decorative rim round the edge. Each dome is richly decorated with cast floral patterns, with a broken band of niello round the base. One part has a rosette in the centre, and the other a space with a bar across it. The pin of the central hinge has a hollow bead, with spiral striations round it, on each end. On the inside of the solid part there is the original label of the Department of Science and Art. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | These silver discs, decorated with niello, are among the first pieces of European traditional jewellery acquired by the Museum in 1853. In fact, they were acquired before the Museum even existed, by its predecessor, the Department of Science and Arts Museum, and the paper label of that museum can still be found on the back of one of them. They were made in what is now Epirus, in northern Greece, or Albania. They were described as ‘modern Turkish’ at the time, as both places were still part of the Ottoman Empire in 1853. They are part of a belt fitting. A narrow leather strap would have hooked over the bar on one part, to attach it to the belt, and the rod on the back of the other part may have been inserted through a hole to secure the belt, although that is an unusual way to fasten an Albanian clasp. Albanian clasps were briefly very popular in Britain in the 1870s, after the fashionable Bond Street jeweller, W. H. Thornhill, included one in his Christmas range in 1874. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 2745-1853 |
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| Record created | April 1, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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