Accession Nr.: 974
Type: jewellery; metalwork; accessory
Date of production:
before 1914
Place of production:
Acquisition: collection of Ferenc Hopp
Materials/Techniques: silver, repoussé, chiselled
Dimensions: height: 6cm
width: 11.5cm
depth: 0.6cm
Silver beltbuckle in the form of a leaf, with a rosette in the middle, surrounded by foliage scroll motif. The object was purcheased by Ferenc Hopp in Siam.
The belt ornament (In Indonesian: pending) is a popular accessory in the Malay world made by Peranakan (emigrant, assimilated) Chinese jewellers, but the clientele was not limited to this community, as it was as much a part of Javanese dress as of the people of Malayo-chinese colonies living in the Malay islands or Singapore (the former British colony, called the Straits Settlements). A beautifully crafted, ornate silver pending was also the symbol of the wearer's wealth and status.