Featured Antique Dutch Silver Buckle

One of my most recent finds. I think it is silver, but I haven't gotten around to testing it yet. Hallmarked on pin and back. I saw a similar one online described as a Jewish buckle worn at Yom Kippur, but since it doesn't have any Hebrew lettering or Jewish symbology, I am not sure. 5 inches wide, nearly 2.5 inches tall.

 

nice.........

 

Thank you! That's almost exactly the same. Mine also has the female faces on the edges.

 

Thank you!

 

That's a beauty!

 

Pretty - from the Groningen shop of Niekerk Bros. ('N2'), 1908 'Y' date letter, if you hunt around, should find the standard mark, most likely a lion-passant with a '1' or '2' (might be a sword) - the Etsy seller's information is faulty, that 'M' with the dots is not a date letter, perhaps a pseudomark (and 1845 is an 'L' anyway), and would question the other date letter they mention since no image is shown...

~Cheryl


https://www.925-1000.com/Fnetherlands_Date_Code.html

 

Thank you! I love how ornate it is.

Thank you, Cheryl! It's so weird how I can't find a lion passant or sword mark on it. I've searched everywhere on the buckle. It doesn't seem like silver plate...

 

It's silver, probably .833 fineness, it has the Minerva-head and date letter - there've been times where I gave up trying to find a Dutch mark, only to come back later to find it stamped in some weird place, could even be in the design on the front...

~Cheryl

 

New on on me, hadn't heard of jewellery specific to Yom Kippur.

 

Gorgeous, Barn. Cheryl's ID is right.
Groningen was my first guess, from the design and weight of the buckle. These 'Empire' (French pronunciation) style designs were especially popular in the northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen, where the designs lingered on after the rest of the country followed new fashions.
Groningen is the name of both the province and of its capital. The town was one of the rich Hanseatic towns of northern Europe, and most of the surrounding countryside had good soil for agriculture. So plenty of 'filthy rich' people.

These buckles were worn by anyone who could afford them, there is no reason to believe a specific Jewish or Yom Kippur connection. The town of Groningen had an important Jewish community, but that doesn't automatically mean Groningen silver is Jewish-connected.
My father grew up in the Jewish neighbourhood of Groningen town, btw, within sight of the synagogue.

I know! Even on very delicate pieces. And sometimes there are some marks on the back and others on the front.