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Woman's belt buckle. Western Black Sea region / Turkey. Armenian Museum of France.

Posted by Jean-Marie Criel on March 25, 2016 at 4:30am

'Toka' (woman's belt buckle). Late-Ottoman, 19th century. Coral, turquoise and enamel inlaid (gilded) silver filigree work. Belonged to an Armenian family. Probably made in a Christian workshop of Safranbolu (possibly Armenian; if not: 'Rum'/Anatolian Greek). (Armenian Museum of France, Paris).

Comments

Peter Hoesli March 25, 2016 at 6:02pm

Dear Jean-Marie; This is one of the most beautiful belt buckles I have come across! Just stunning! With kind regards. Peter
Thelma March 27, 2016 at 3:35pm

Superb craftsmanship! Do you know if those coral pieces were intentionally shaped in the form of almonds?
Jean-Marie Criel March 27, 2016 at 9:37pm

@ Thelma: I don't have specific information about the almond-shaped corals. But, since they are found so often in this kind of jewelry (Safranbolu & co), I think the shape must be intentionally. If I were to propose a symbolic meaning to them, I would refer to the 'badem gözlü Acem' / 'Persian girl with almond(-shaped) eyes', which appear in Anatolian folk songs as a summum of female beauty. With kind regards, JM.