Featured Straits Chinese silver-plate Nyonya Belt - Ca. 1900.

I think I recently purchased a Straits Chinese belt buckle. I haven't received it yet, so I haven't had a chance to test the silver content, but I think the seller probably tested it for silver already. They tested the clear stones and said they weren't diamonds. I'd love your thoughts if you think it is Peranakan.

 

The easiest way I’ve found of doing it is to take a screen shot of your own photo. The screenshot is of a lower resolution and therefore meets the requirement. I typically crop them a bit. I guess not easier than emailing them if you’re on a computer. On an iPhone I find it easier though. I discovered this method by accident but have kept doing it.

Edit: spelling

 

It doesn't look like any Peranakan belt-buckle I've seen. Usually they're intricate, with piercework and engraving, with Chinese-themed floral and bird motifs. Lotuses, phoenixes, peony flowers, dragons, etc. I don't see any of that stuff there.

 

Thanks! (If you were talking about mine.) I found a similar one labeled Peranakan online, which is why I thought it might be one, but it sounds like the seller was mistaken. Back to the search.

 

Thanks JDagger! I will add this to the Help & Support thread for photos, and will likely use it myself.

 

As much as possible, Peranakan goldsmiths made their wares out of the highest quality materials. Solid silver, and high-karat gold. Silver-plate would've been rare, but they did exist (I have two silver plate belts, and one solid silver one).

 

Thanks for responding. Did you see the photos? I'm in Canada and don't want this piece to go to the wrong place.

 

I can see the photos, good work! @Shangas should be back at some point.

 

What is the figure on the left? I see a water buffalo,a "monk"and a moth.The figure on the left side is not distinct.

 

Mine? I'm not quite sure, since I don't have it in hand. Looks like it might be a rider.

 

The white stones are probably rosecut jargoons
Nice piece!

 

@Any Jewelry

 

It is an Indonesian 'pending', worn mostly on Sumatra. The stones are probably low grade Borneo diamonds, often used in Indonesian buckles.
This is the Peranakan style pending, hence the Chinese figure.
Peranakan people often made local style items, and 'Peranakanised' them.

This is an elegant three-layered Minangkabau silver and niello pending from Sumatra. Traditional Minangkabau would be shocked by the flamboyant Peranakan style.


This one is also Sumatran, also an elegant shape and threee layers. Possibly from Aceh, in the northern tip of the island.

 

Thank you!

Awesome, thank you!

 

It's an interesting belt, but I'm not convinced it's Peranakan. For one thing I can't see enough of the details to be sure of what it is, or what it isn't. Peranakan belts are usually made of either solid silver, or solid gold, or silver-plate. Sometimes they're even made of brass, but I've never seen more than one or two of those. The vast majority were silver, followed by gold, then silver-plate, in my experience.

Peranakan belts are famous for their "tingkat" ("layers") of silver. You had rows of little silver pieces shaped like diamonds, or flowers, or circles, etc, and they're all linked together, one after another - like a chain.

Then you have another chain. And another. And another. And they're all laid alongside each other in rows. Then they're all linked together, a bit like chainmail. And the rows of little decorative silver pieces form the body of the belt. Each row is one "tingkat". The more rows of silver, the more expensive and intricate the belt is. Usually it's three, or four. But I have seen examples of five, or even six rows. But obviously - more rows = more silver = more expensive. So most people stuck with just 3-4 rows. Then you have the actual buckle itself at the front.

Here is a Peranakan 5-Tingkat belt:



I don't see that construction here. It just looks like woven silver mesh, which I've never seen in a Peranakan belt.

Another way of making a silver Peranakan belt was with "panels". Basically, you have plates or tiles of silver, which are linked together by silver rings, and they go around in a circle, with a buckle at the front. To save money, some people would give the silversmith BIG SILVER COINS - as big as they could find - and say:

"Make me a belt out of these!"

Peranakan silver coin belt:



So he'd drill, link and make a belt out of the coins, and then fashion a buckle out of whatever was left over. It was cheaper than asking the silversmith to make each panel individually. All you had to do was find enough silver coins of the right size, and quantity.

An even CHEAPER way of doing it was to simply get a silver chain, put a silver coin on it, and a buckle, and turn that into a belt (I have one of those, which belonged to my grandmother).



I see that your belt has two silver panels at the front, and then the rest is made of silver mesh, and then a panel buckle at the front. I've never seen that style in Peranakan silversmithing.

Here is a Peranakan "Panel"-style belt:



These are the four basic styles of Peranakan belts. For your belt to be Peranakan, it would have to first match one of these styles. If it doesn't, then it likely isn't Peranakan.

 

Get better pictures of the hallmarks and post on the silver board. The hallmarks will tell you where the belt is from

 

Here is a Peranakan "Panel"-style belt:



These are the four basic styles of Peranakan belts. For your belt to be Peranakan, it would have to first match one of these styles. If it doesn't, then it likely isn't Peranakan.[/QUOTE]

Sorry to keep hijacking this thread, but I actually have one of these, I think! I bought it a while back. It's not silver; it's very lightweight and feels like it might be silver-plated aluminum. Has some cracks in the finer details.

 

Yes it is Peranakan!

Do you see any loss of plating? Many of these are low grade silver.
Here is one that was sold just yesterday on Catawiki for 29 euro:

https://veiling.catawiki.nl/kavels/...halte-zilver-peranakan-azi?previous=favorites

I was thinking of bidding too, but it is very worn, and I see these regularly. (And I have been spending a lot lately )

 

Thanks! No visible plate loss. I can't figure out how to identify low-grade silver using the streak test, so I just assumed that it is plated. I bought mine for around $22, including shipping, so I hope I did all right...