Tibet
18th century
Turquoise, silver, mixed metals
Diameter 4 1/2 in (11.4 cm), Height 1 1/2 in (3.8 cm)
Provenance: Beasley Collection, UK, acquired 22 December 1926
This Tibetan belt buckle is set with an abundance of turquoise stones of varying size and tone, arranged in a floral form radiating outward from a central cluster, the stones held within a dark metal framework worked with granulation and repousse detailing at the border. Turquoise held exceptional significance in Tibetan culture, valued as a protective stone and a marker of status and wealth, and belt ornaments of this elaborateness were produced for persons of high social standing. The Beasley Collection label recording acquisition on 22 December 1926 gives this piece a documented provenance reaching back nearly a century, connecting it to the British collecting tradition for Tibetan material that flourished in the early twentieth century.
Tibetan metalwork of the eighteenth century drew on a long tradition of combining silver and base metals with turquoise, coral, and other semiprecious stones in objects of personal adornment, religious use, and daily life. Belt buckles and fittings of this elaborateness were prestige objects within the Tibetan social hierarchy, their quality and materials signaling the rank of the wearer. The survival of the collection label with its precise acquisition date makes this piece unusually well documented for Tibetan material of this period.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Tibet
18th century
Turquoise, silver, mixed metals
Diameter 4 1/2 in (11.4 cm), Height 1 1/2 in (3.8 cm)
Provenance: Beasley Collection, UK, acquired 22 December 1926
This Tibetan belt buckle is set with an abundance of turquoise stones of varying size and tone, arranged in a floral form radiating outward from a central cluster, the stones held within a dark metal framework worked with granulation and repousse detailing at the border. Turquoise held exceptional significance in Tibetan culture, valued as a protective stone and a marker of status and wealth, and belt ornaments of this elaborateness were produced for persons of high social standing. The Beasley Collection label recording acquisition on 22 December 1926 gives this piece a documented provenance reaching back nearly a century, connecting it to the British collecting tradition for Tibetan material that flourished in the early twentieth century.
Tibetan metalwork of the eighteenth century drew on a long tradition of combining silver and base metals with turquoise, coral, and other semiprecious stones in objects of personal adornment, religious use, and daily life. Belt buckles and fittings of this elaborateness were prestige objects within the Tibetan social hierarchy, their quality and materials signaling the rank of the wearer. The survival of the collection label with its precise acquisition date makes this piece unusually well documented for Tibetan material of this period.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
