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Comments
nice, something completely different from the items shown here in general! Thanks for showing!
I really like this less fussy look, Ayis. But isn`t it a bit small for a belt? Perhaps I`m not understanding the photo properly.
aha..so you're the person who made an offer and purchased this! I was watching (& dreaming)...Just loved the old amazing carnelian on it. So glad someone was able to get and appreciate! Enjoy....Lynne
So it`s actally a Turkish Ottoman ot Turkoman sword belt. Actually a military belt rather than a "kept for best" one. For a little back-up info. see eBay item no. 221168457329.
Thanx everybody
@frankie
The reference book on the ebay auction you are refering to is correct, it is a book published by a polish museum ( and eastern european countries do have serious collections and researchers from the communist era)!
Elsewhere this belt was touted as an adornment worn by "bear" tamer and entertainer who were common at a time in south eastern europe and turkey, fortunately now an extinct job!!
We had an extensive discussion with joost and Linda a time ago , and the best we could reach is that this belt is tied to albanian traditions but Joost later added this caption on his facebook page :
"These belts are in essence Ottoman, and made mostly in the Balkans during the 19th c. The centre of manufacture appears to have been Albania. This one - definitely collected in Macedonia - is clearly 19th c, made of brass, leather, and carnelians. It is generally accepted that these belts were most often made for officers of a mercenary army protecting the Ottomans. The men wore them over their coats. Only a few - smaller - examples were made for women, especially in Montenegro. It appears that production for women soon ceased (probably around 1870) because the belts were too stiff. Women wore them from their wedding onwards."
thus comparing the size of my belt with those published and also with an old one i had collected years ago, we can surmise that this belt might have been worn by a woman in Montenegro!
Again the option of a military use is not exhaustiv, and i would not be suprised if these belts were used by different people and in different ways or at least that their using tradition changed through time!
Ayis, that is fantastic information. Thank you. Somehow I thought I had seen similar before probably on this site.
i actually think I`ve seen one in actual fact - here in in a UK junk shop, wrapped round an elephant`s foot. It was labelled as an elephant bracelet. when I asked the shop`s owner if it was for sale, he said, "Of course not"!!!! Even though it was displayed with his other goods for sale. Quite funny really.
Thanks again.
Very funny story
but guess what, a month ago or so i was wandering in the biggest parisian auction house and stumbled across a similar large belt which was labelled as an elephant "ring" . lol
i talked to the expert to tell him that it was rather a balkan belt!!
refused to change the label and the belt ended up being bought by a antique dealer friend of mine specialised in ethic jewelry..good for him!!!
Very funny
on joost's page, a serbian member, said that a similar belt is shown in the belgrade ethnic museum and labelled as an albanian woman belt!!
which is which???!!
a fantastic work of art still full of mystery
i know this kind of belts as ottoman, belts. Balkan have semilar ones, actualy semilar knives, swords and other weapons with the tukish ones.
even in yemen, there is some jambiyas belts in this direction.
again, a great purshassing and cleaning
I do like this piece! Carnelians are going so well with the leather.
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