Featured ANTIQUE SIAMESE-STYLE PERANAKAN SILVER BELT

This had been on-offer at my local-flea market for something approaching a year, and today, I finally decided to buy it.

I was told an elaborate story by the dealer (who sells heavily in Asian antiques) that it was Chinese-export silver from the 19th century...and something about that just didn't fit right with me...

...anyway, I brought it home, and after doing a lot of research online, I've determined it to be a Siamese-style Peranakan belt. I've found at least two other examples online of identical style which were identified as Peranakan, along with various other pieces.

I'm a bit stunned at the moment.

I still have my doubts about whether it's really silver (I'm thinking of getting it tested) but at least my pool of knowledge has expanded somewhat.

 

The metal belt itself doesn't look like silver to me. Looks like a metal mesh one I used to have, in fact. The buckle itself? Dunno.

 

Like I said, I have my doubts. I'm gonna get it tested.

 

Lovely belt, Shangas.
It is a classic belt from southern Thailand. This style is often associated with the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
The floral decoration on yours is classic southern Thai, I don't see any Peranakan influence. The one in the second photo you posted has a fish, which is more Peranakan.

You already know that the Peranakan often used local clothing elements, including belts (Javanese wedding belts, Minangkabau and Aceh buckles).
Given that the decoration is Thai and not specifically Peranakan, whether yours is Thai made or Peranakan made depends on the marks.
The silver ones I have seen had Thai script marks, but as the one in the second photo shows, there are belts with Chinese script marks.
I'm sure you have checked it for marks, but could you check again? Thai script can be missed in the decoration.

So, while it is possible that the maker or a previous owner were local Peranakans, it is also possible that they were local Thai.
Thai outnumber Peranakans in southern Thailand and the decoration has no Peranakan design elements, so a Thai maker and made for Thai is more likely imo.

Will you let us know the result?

 

The only mark I've seen is the stamp on the back of the buckle. I can have another look, but I didn't see anything else that looks like a mark.

I have seen these belts identified as both Siamese/Thai, and as Peranakan, and that the styles change slightly here and there (as any will, obviously), but I've also seen this specific style of buckle (not the belt itself, just the buckle) on belts which were specifically ID'd as Peranakan, which makes me think it's more likely to be that, rather than Thai. In my experience, old Siamese silver tends to have more figural elements on it, rather than natural, which tends to be the case with Peranakan stuff.

I won't be able to have the belt tested until after Easter, since everything's closed right now. Once things open up again, I'm gonna take it to my local pawnbroker/jeweler. He does free jewelry-testing services, so I'll get him to do an acid-test on the belt.

I mean, yes, I know it's marked, but experience has taught me that the marks on Asian silver can't always be trusted. I mean, I've got three other Peranakan belts in my collection which are all nickel, including one which I inherited from my Peranakan great-grandparents, and that's gotta be at least 100 years old, so...I take everything with a grain of salt.



This is the only mark I was able to find. Of course, with Asian silver, I know that doesn't necessarily mean it IS silver, I know how much this stuff is faked, so I'm fully prepared for this not to be.

 

That looks like a Chinese mark, or at least Chinese characters. Take a magnet to the belt. I think mine was steel and would have stuck if I"d bothered testing it. Brass won't, obviously, but it's cheap and painless to try it.

 

Tried it out with an extremely powerful magnet.

No reaction of any kind. Not even a jiggle.

 

That's a good sign that it's not stainless at least.

 

Given my track-record, it's probably nickel, but we live in hope, I guess.

 

My usual luck too.

 

There are regional differences in Thai ornamentation, as anywhere. It isn't one cultural entity with restrictions on what to depict. There is even a sizeable Muslim population in the south, and you won't see them making silver with Buddhist divinities on them.

As I said before, this floral decoration is typical of the south of Thailand:

I even specified the region:

Below is one of my southern Thai bracelet, it is modern but with traditional floral ornamentation, no divinities or other figural motifs:

 

Is that mark is on your belt? If so, it is indeed Peranakan made. It is quite a big mark too, and the metal looks like silver to me.
I don't read Chinese, but it looks like it could be the Zu Yin mark for a high silver content, higher than sterling

 

Sorry, I should've specified - YES - that is the mark on MY belt. It's stamped on the back of the buckle. The dealer I bought the belt from said it was "Zu Yin", although he didn't specify what grade of silver that indicated.

Nice to know that this is definitely Peranakan, then. Only question is whether it's really silver. I suppose this means it is, but I still want to have it tested. I'm gonna try and do that some time this week. Take it to my local jeweler and get him to do a scratch-test.

 

Oh, wonderful.

Zu Yin can be up to .999.

I hope he has another, non-invasive way of testing it. Otherwise maybe take it to another jeweller?
For what it's worth, I am confident that it is silver.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

Responding to some of your other comments - yes, if it IS Peranakan, then southern Siamese would make more sense, since the Peranakan are mostly concentrated in Malaya, Singapore and Indonesia, so any such presence in Thailand would be located in the south of the country.

There are other ways of testing silver, I'll see what I can do about it.

Why are you so confident that it is silver? I mean I can guess why - but at the same time, I have seen these things made of silver-plate/nickel-silver, and I know these marks can be faked. That said, I also know that the Peranakan jewelers were very particular about their metals...I dunno...I suppose I'm just juggling two conflicting ideas in my head.

 

Well, I took the belt to my jeweler for his professional opinion.

And the verdict is...

... solid silver!! He reckons anywhere between 935-950!

I've hit the jackpot!!!

 

After examining the belt and confirming it was definitely high-grade silver, my jeweler wanted to weigh it, to determine the scrap-value (purely for curiosity - I'd NEVER sell this!!).

...the belt was so heavy, it maxed-out his jewelry scale! So I took it home and weighed it using the scale I use for my antique silverware. The results speak for themselves:

 

Yep, that's in the Zu Yin scale, so correctly marked.

I forgot about the maker's mark before, it is the sun(?) mark above the Zu Yin mark. I don't know it, but if you come across any info on Peranakan makers that is the one to look for.

 

No, I wasn't able to find any information about the other mark. I suspected it was a maker's mark, but who for, I have no idea.