This belt consists of eighteen hinged segments and a larger rectangular section with a round plaque in the center. Additional jewelry or silk tassel ornaments were once suspended from the three attached loops. The various colors of the semiprecious stones and the traces of enamel are reminiscent of sumptuous and exotic Ottoman-inspired designs. At the same time, several details evoke early Medieval– Romanesque– goldsmith work, such as reliquaries from northern Europe that survived at least until the early sixteenth century.

Literature
Silhouettes, Portrait Miniatures, Objects of Vertu, Gold Boxes, and European Silver. Sale cat., Sotheby’s, London, March 7, 1983, p. 56, no. 171.
Judit H. Kolba. Hungarian Silver: The Nicolas M. Salgo Collection. London, 1996, p. 96, no. 74.

References
Important English, Continental and American Silver and Gold. Sale cat., Christie’s, New York, May 17, 2011, nos. 117-118.

[Wolfram Koeppe 2015]