Two-part belt clasp of silver-gilt filigree over copper decorated with corals and turquoise enamel, Saphrampolis (Turkey), 1850-1884.

Large two-part clasp with sideways hook fastening. Each part consists of a slightly convex disc with an arched extension at the outer end. One part has a small disc at the inner end covering a large cast loop. The other has a corresponding hook. The front of each part is covered by a decorative filigree overlay which is riveted to the back plate. The filigree is set with grooved corals shaped like finger nails in closed mounts, interspersed with similar hollow appliqués. In the centre, in the centre of the arched extension, and on the disc over the central loop, there is a small dome, with panels of turquoise enamel, set with a coral on the top. On the back of each part there is a length of thick wire and a strip of sheet metal with a scalloped edge to hold the belt.

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 impressive clasp is set with pieces of grooved coral which are typical of the work of Saphrampolis, in northern Anatolia. They were traded throughout the Balkans, and were highly esteemed. Although the clasp appears to be made of gilded silver it is in fact copper, thickly plated first with silver, and then gold. This technique was very common in the Balkans in the 19th century.

It was acquired in Cairo but it is more likely that it was made in the Balkans or Anatolia, where such clasps were the most important item in a woman’s dowry. The women who owned them sewed them onto cloth belts which they made themselves, usually richly embroidered.

951:1, 2-1884