Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Belts And Buckles

Belts and buckles are among the most conspicuous articles of personal ornaments made for the Peranakan Chinese. They are commonly made of iron, stainless steel, brass and the typical silver belt, for example, is noted for its ingenuity of design and intricacy of workmanship. Basically, this consists of a flexible band composed of a network of up to several thousand pieces of interlocking rings or links of various shapes arranged to form a regular pattern of some sort, and superimposed at regular intervals on the obverse side. Here are some of my collection of buckles and belts which I've bought from several states in Malaysia.


An ornate, ogival-shaped belt buckle of Straits Chinese workmanship.
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-Back-



An ornate, ogival-shaped belt buckle of Straits Chinese workmanship.
-Front-



-Back-



The details of the workmanship.



An ornate, ogival-shaped belt buckle of Straits Chinese workmanship.
-Front-



-Back-



The details of the workmanship.



An ogival pierced belt buckle shows a phoenix motif amongst foliage.
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-Back-



Belt buckle of Straits Chinese workmanship with repousséd and chased work.
-Front-



-Back-



The details of the workmanship.



Belt buckle of Straits Chinese workmanship with repousséd and chased work.
-Front-



-Back-



-Back-



Belt buckle of Straits Chinese workmanship with repousséd and chased work.
-Front-



-Back-



Pierced belt buckle.
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-Back-



An ogival-shaped belt buckle of Straits Chinese workmanship with American coin.
-Front-



-Back-



An ogival-shaped belt buckle of Straits Chinese workmanship.
-Front-



-Back-



The details of the workmanship.



"S" hook-type belt buckle.
-Front-



-Back-



Chinese belt buckle.
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-Back-



Chinese belt buckle.
-Front-



-Back-



Chinese belt buckle.
-Front-



-Back-



Chinese belt buckle.



The details of the workmanship.



Silver belt with buckle 01



Silver belt with buckle 01



Silver belt with buckle 01



Silver belt with buckle 01



Silver belt with buckle 01



Silver belt with buckle 02



Silver belt with buckle 02



Silver belt with buckle 02



Silver belt with buckle 03



Silver belt with buckle 03



Silver belt with buckle 03



Silver belt with buckle 04



Silver belt with buckle 04



Silver belt with buckle 04



Silver belt with buckle 05



Silver belt with buckle 05



Silver belt with buckle 05



Silver belt with "S" hook-type buckle 06



Silver belt with "S" hook-type buckle 06



Silver belt with "S" hook-type buckle 06



Silver belt with "S" hook-type buckle 07



Silver belt with "S" hook-type buckle 07



Silver belt with "S" hook-type buckle 07



Silver belt with buckle 08



Silver belt with buckle 09



The silver belt of number 08



The silver belt of number 09



The detail of the silver belt number 08 and 09



The detail of the repoussé work of the silver belt number 08



The detail of the repoussé work of the silver belt number 09



Silver belt with buckle 10



Silver belt with buckle 10



Silver belt with buckle 10



Silver belt with buckle 11



Silver belt with buckle 11



Silver belt with buckle 11



Silver belt with buckle 12



Silver belt with buckle 12



Silver belt with buckle 12



Silver coin belt with buckle 13



Silver coin belt with buckle 13



Silver coin belt with buckle 13



Silver Aceh-style belt with buckle 14



Silver Aceh-style belt with buckle 14



Silver Aceh-style belt with buckle 14



Peranakan silver chain belt with coin 15



Peranakan silver chain belt with coin 15



Peranakan silver chain belt with coin 15



Silver belt with buckle 16



Silver belt with buckle 16



Silver belt with buckle 16



Silver belt with buckle 16



Silver belt with buckle 17



Silver belt with buckle 17



Silver belt with buckle 17



Silver belt with buckle 17



Nyonya belt made of stainless steel 18



Nyonya belt made of stainless steel 18



Nyonya belt made of stainless steel 18



Nyonya belt made of brass 19



Nyonya belt made of brass 19



Nyonya belt made of brass 19



Nyonya belt made of iron 20



Nyonya belt made of iron 20



Nyonya belt made of iron 20



Nyonya belt made of iron 21



Nyonya belt made of iron 21



Nyonya belt made of iron 21



Also check out the "Pending".
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15 comments:

  1. ShangasSeptember 4, 2014 at 12:25 PM

    Hello.

    I recently inherited a SILVER Peranakan belt and buckle from my grandmother. The belt is identical (almost absolutely) to the "Silver belt No. 12" in your picture-gallery.

    How old would a belt of this type be? When would it have been made? I'm trying to narrow down a date of manufacture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. enticzNovember 6, 2014 at 11:41 AM

      Hi Shangas, sorry for my late reply. A genuine belt like this will possibly date back to 1900-1950.

      Delete
    2. ShangasDecember 7, 2014 at 3:48 PM

      Hi Enticz! Thanks for getting back to me. I've done more research, and asked older family-members. I think the belt probably comes from the 1890s-1920s/30s. That would make it anywhere from 80-120 years old.

      Were belts and buckles like these custom-made by Peranakan jewelers? Or could you just go out and buy them from a jewelry shop? Were they all made in Malaya, Singapore and Indonesia?

      My grandmother and her family were Peranakan. I have that belt, and I also have a coin-belt (similar to belt 15 in your gallery), made out of silver chain and a dutch Guilder from the 1930s. Presumably, that one would also have been custom-made?

      Delete
  2. A Former Flower ChildNovember 5, 2014 at 9:05 AM

    I love your buckles ! Do you sell them ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. enticzNovember 5, 2014 at 2:15 PM

      Hi there,
      Thanks for browsing my blog. At the moment, I am still keeping my collection as "treasures"...Will surely let you know if I want to let go in future...

      Delete
  3. UnknownDecember 25, 2014 at 10:18 AM

    Dear Entics,
    I have a silver belt and bucklet,the motif are 12 chinese zodiac,may be made for peranakan market

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. enticzFebruary 3, 2015 at 7:48 PM

      Hi Hasan,
      Cool... Would be glad if you can show us some pictures to share the info....

      Delete
  4. AnonymousApril 21, 2015 at 11:52 PM

    dear enticcz,can you give me your email,tks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. enticzApril 24, 2015 at 1:04 PM

      Hi, may I know how can I contact you and what is it regarding? Anything you want to share?

      Delete
  5. UnknownApril 26, 2015 at 10:32 PM

    dear enticz,my email is hasanmihardja@gmail.com,
    I will send you some straits Chinese silver belt pictures

    ReplyDelete
  6. The DecoratorSeptember 13, 2017 at 6:09 PM

    Hi, thanks for sharing your peranakan collection. They are unique and some I have seen them for the first time.
    I've bought a pair of anklets lately. They appear to be old and bulky with intricate repousse work but hollow inside and light weight. Could light weight an indicator of a fake replicate?
    Do they make an anklets in light weight in the past?
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. enticzSeptember 14, 2017 at 2:42 PM

      Hi there,
      I'm pleased to hear that. Thanks for your kind words. It is indeed all of the anklets were meant to be made hollow as to have it easy to design the repousse motifs, more so more comfortable for the wearer. Some are actually with marks too. I trust you've bought an original piece....

      Delete
  7. UnknownSeptember 21, 2020 at 8:59 PM

    i have belt something like that

    ReplyDelete
  8. Vaughan WilliamsJune 10, 2021 at 5:02 PM

    I have this choker can you ident

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJuly 7, 2024 at 12:33 AM

    Hello,sir,I am from Malaysia.i had 01 silver belt.i was told ,its was made in the 80s,90s,.its that true.i am confused. I thought it is old

    ReplyDelete

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