Belt buckle
Unknown Artist
19th century
Medium
metal
Classification
Belt Buckle
Culture
Dutch
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Alphonso T. Clearwater, 1933
Accession Number
33.120.86
Art Historical Context
This exquisite 19th-century Dutch buckle, crafted from metal by an unknown artist, offers a glimpse into the refined world of European fashion accessories. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume, it exemplifies the everyday elegance of the era, when buckles served both practical and ornamental purposes. Donated through the bequest of Alphonso. Clearwater in 3, it reflects the enduring value placed on such personal adornments. In 19th-century Netherlands, amid a period of national revival and industrial growth, metal buckles like this one highlighted skilled metalworking techniques...