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78

Two Safavid Steel Belt Buckles, Persia, 17th/18th C

Currency:EUR Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,200.00 EUR Estimated At:3,600.00 - 4,500.00 EUR
Two Safavid Steel Belt Buckles, Persia, 17th/18th C
Steel, gold
Persia, Safavid Dynasty, 17th or 18th Century
Ornamental decor partially with gold background
With old collection number (F.R. Martin)
Diameter: 3.2 cm; 5 cm
Provenance: ex-collection F.R. Martin, thence Austrian private collection

These two ornamental steel plaques were crafted in Persia during the Safavid era in the 17th or 18th Century. They were probably used as belt buckles made from a pierced steel face attached with rivets to a second steel sheet. The round buckle with scalloped edges shows five lines of inscription – a verse from the Qu’ran – in naskhi, an Arabic calligraphic script. The smaller palmette-shaped plaque is adorned with foliage. It features a still partially preserved background in gold.

Both plaques are in a good state of preservation with signs of age and use. They have an appealing patina and show traces of corrosion as well as minor material loss along the edges. The round buckle has a diameter of 5 cm, the small of 3.2 cm.

Collection F.R. Martin
At the turn of the Century the Swedish scholar and art historian Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933) travelled through much of Persia. By the 1920s he had compiled an extensive and historically important collection of Islamic art, illustrating the craftsmanship of bygone dynasties. During his lifetime F.R. Martin authored many books on the subject of Islamic arts and crafts. Many of the items from the collection, about which an extensive catalogue was published, are nowadays held in the Medelhavsmuseet and the Ethnographical Museum in Stockholm. Shipping costs excl. statutory VAT and plus 2,5% (+VAT) shipping insurance.
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