Rare and Important Ottoman Jade and Jewel-Set Belt Buckle

Project Details

Rare and Important Ottoman Jade and Jewel-Set Belt Buckle

Ottoman Empire
17th Century
Dimensions: 11.5 x 24 cm.

Slightly curved gilt silver body consisting of two halves, with a central aperture and sliding hinge, stays on underside to fasten belt, the front worked in repoussé with foliate scrolls, set with encrusted four jade plaques inlaid with gold and set turquoises, bordered by further precious stones set into shallow bud-shaped settings.

This rare belt buckle belongs to a small group of Ottoman belt buckles decorated in a certain manner in which the jewels bordering each jade plaque were each set into bud-shaped clasps using a technique known as mıhlama (R. Hasson, Later Islamic Jewellery, L.A. Mayer Memorial Institute for Islamic Art, Jerusalem, 1987, p.11, no.3).

The Ottoman tradition of setting jade and gemstones into metal objects to embellish them can be seen on a number of different objects including small boxes, book covers, mirrors, weapons and belt buckles. For a variety of courtly objects decorated in the same manner in the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, please see, J. Michael Rogers, Topkapı: The Treasury, Thames & Hudson, London 1987.

Belt buckles were worn by Ottoman men and women both for their decorative value as well as a sign of social status. Ornate examples were worn by ladies. Other smaller buckles which bear inscriptions sometimes with the name of their owner were worn by high-ranking officials. Greek Orthodox and Armenian Gregorian priests wore belt buckles bearing biblical scenes as part of their ecclesiastic costume.

Belt buckles, made of different materials, displaying different craftsmanship, have been depicted by Orientalist painters in portraits of Harem ladies. The richness and variety of their design and craftsmanship indicate their significance in the history Ottoman fashion.

A comparable 17th century Ottoman belt buckle, in the Museum Angewandtekunst, Frankfurt, (inv. no.14320), displays a similar pattern of arrangement, with inset jade plaques and colourful gemstones on a repoussé ground. Please see the link, https://sammlung-digital.museumangewandtekunst.de/detailpage/collection/8ec9c718-5e84-46ea-9f5f-99fcafacc0e5

There is a 17th century Ottoman belt buckle, similarly decorated with encrusted jade plaques inlaid with gold, in the Topkapi Palace Museum (Inv. No. 2/1795), Istanbul, please see the exhibition catalogue, The Anatolian Civilisations III – Seljuk / Ottoman, Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Istanbul, 1983, cat. E.266, p. 261.

For a last comparable example, decorated with encrusted jade plaques inlaid with gold, in the Sadberk Hanim Museum (Inv. No. 10375-Z.352a-b), Istanbul, see the exhibition catalogue, Asirlar Sonra Bir Arada – Sadberk Hanim Müzesi’nin Yurtdışından Türkiye’ye Kazandırdığı Eserler, texts by Hülya Bilgi, Istanbul, 2005, p. 199.

Categories: Metalwork & Woodwork

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Rare and Important Ottoman Jade and Jewel-Set Belt Buckle

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