Photos

Comments

• 

  Johanne February 22, 2012 at 10:18am

  Very nice piece, Joost. Mostly the belt is missing, you'll find only the buckle. I like that small blue stone on this buckle!
• 

  Joost Daalder February 22, 2012 at 10:45am

  Many thanks, Johanne. It may interest you to know that we bought it in Holland: from Els Verhey in Amsterdam, in - I think - 2001. That is the year we both decided to retire.  As we were able to go on a holiday before actually terminating our appointments, but had little idea as to just how we would organise our finances during our retirement, we decided we would not buy ANY collectibles while in Europe - unheard of, for us! Well, we managed: this piece, however, being the only exception. And one reason why we bought it is that to us too it mattered greatly that, exceptionally, this was a complete belt, while as you say very often you'd get the buckle only. And in any case even the buckle was rare, so we felt we should make an exception ... Otherwise we remained austerely disciplined, on that occasion!
• 

  Chantal February 22, 2012 at 12:51pm

  Spectacular and very interesting comment.
• 

  Ethnic Embellishments February 22, 2012 at 4:53pm

  I find the blue bead interesting.  I've seen it before.  In jewelry from the Southwestern Native American pueblo-dwelling (traditional) populations, it is coral or red glass beads that are added to the back of a necklace near the clasp to give the same effect.
• 

  Joost Daalder February 22, 2012 at 7:38pm

  Thanks, Hillary, for that comment on the blue bead. They occur very frequently with this function in Central Asia. I did not know - because we happen not to collect it - that the same principle of deflecting evil also (but then with red) occurs among the American Jewellery which you mention, but I am not surprised. When, after some seven years, Truus had written up *Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment* about a significant number of various cultures seemingly often not closely related to each other we were both struck by many universal features, such as the use of protective "devices". In fact, although of course there often many very significant differences in outlook as well, common preoccupations such as fear of evil spirits or hopes for fertility etc stood out far more for us. Actually to learn about such things was a process that gave us joy well beyond the artistic characteristics of the objects of adornment studied, even though the aesthetic aspects were, and still are, primary to us. So interesting were the ethnographic/anthropological matters that in that respect, at least, I did not at all mind reading the PhD length manuscript three times: I had to do so, as an editor, to ensure that it was well written and presented, but I continued to find the contents interesting, and still do. That is also why on "Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment" (the Facebook page) I always try to write captions which do justice to matters like these. - in the vein of what I wrote for the belt above.
• 

  Joost Daalder February 25, 2013 at 7:17am

  I have just been looking at pieces I posted here previously. This one is worth commenting on a bit further. We saw just a buckle like this in a very good - but not unreasonably expensive - shop in Istanbul when we were there in 2011. We were STAGGERED by the price. And subsequently we have seen a similar price being asked elsewhere on the internet. I like these buckles (and a complete belt even more) - but the price still turns out to be a surprise whenever I think  of it.