Curious adornment found in the ground

Hi,
I found this curious item in my soil. I assume it is brass and appears to be hand-made, with enamel inlays. Much of the enamel has come out. Note the top left and right enamels are magenta along with the bow on the bottom, though are soiled. The center rectangle has dark blue enamel. I have not been able to find any maker's mark on it. The item must have been quite beautiful when it was new.
First of all, what is it? It has a top bracket and a brazed-on bar on the back which is now bent.

How old is it? Is it foreign to the U.S., where it was found?

Any help or information is greatly appreciated.

 

Looks to be half of a belt buckle.

Debora

 

Agreed. Half a belt buckle. I'm thinking it's about 100 years old. It's not worth much in that condition, but it's cool.

 

yup, belt buckle.
search for any marks on the back...

 

I thought that it might be from a Space Ship.

 

Cloisonne enamel half of a belt buckle. Late 19th to early 20th C, might be French, they did a lot of them.

 

The enameling is champleve.

 

Thanks so much for the very enlightening information! The little thing has me a little bewitched.

I wonder what its story is. Granted it is not worth much and it still has mud on it. Maybe I will soon find the other half!

What was the belt material?

I would like to clean it up gently, olive oil soak? vinegar? Still looking for any markings on it.

I would also like to see old photos of people wearing something similar, any good links online?

Again, thanks!

 

Give it a wash in warm soapy water and a gentle scrub with an old toothbrush. If you want to then make the enamel look good, buy a Sunshine cloth on Ebay and use it. The belt was probably fabric, given it's a woman's buckle.

 

As for cleaning it, take a magnet to it before doing anything else. If it sticks, use oil. Getting it wet might make matters worse. If it's brass or spelter, I'm betting brass, soap and water will help. It was probably gold-plated originally, so it may not polish up.

 

I've washed these before now, to get the worst of the crud off. As long as you dry thoroughly and quickly - hair dryer works - it's fine. That's even if it's ferrous. A smear of WD40 wouldn't hurt to protect it.

 

Style-wise, it looks Art Nouveau to me.

 

Me too, Pat.

 

I'd be looking for the other half

 

I'm wondering if there's a chance it's actually from the 1970s, when there were lots of large, interesting belt buckles and early 1900 styles were popular?

Or is the construction so typical of the earlier period that there's no question?

 

I think too well made for the 70s - the back has proper channels, hm?

 

1890 is more like it, maybe 1900.

 

It is completely non-ferrous. Not surprised its that old, area where it was found has documented history back to the early 1800's. I looked but have not found its partner piece. Lots of very old horse shoes, though. Still looking!
Thanks!