Featured Silver Belt. Peranakan (?)

I visited a friend at his shop today and he had this for sale. He gave me a good discount on it, so I bought it. He didn't know if it was silver or silver-plate, so he sold it to me at silver-plate price.



Learned orientalists. Peranakan or not? I wasn't 100% sure, but I thought I'd take a gamble on it. It LOOKS like a Peranakan belt, and I know that Peranakan never did things by halves. It doesn't look like a belt from any other culture.

I intend to take this to the first jeweler I can, to find out if it's silver.

 

Gorgeous, Shangas. But it is not a Peranakan style I know.
Given the very controlled spacing of the motifs, and the fact that the motifs are both cherry blossoms and three-leaved clovers, I think it is Japanese.
The three-leaved clover is a Japanese symbol of happiness, the cherry blossom is the symbol of death and rebirth or renewal. The phoenix is a feminine symbol in Japan just like in China.

 

Do you think it has already been silver tested as there’s a spot on the buckle that looks as if someone has already had a go at it?

 

Do you mean the dark round spot on one of the lobes, lower left?

 

Yes, near the creatures wing.

 

Does that mean it is plated? I never put acid directly on silver(plated/tone) metal, so I am a total ignoramus when it comes to 'how to damage a perfectly good piece of metal'.

 

it is not traditional peranakan but it could be a modernist take? missing the "hooks" at the end to hold the belt end in place. since these would be used with the sarong, you wouldn't want the end to be dangling, but you know this already it looks a bit rough for japanese, especially the phoenix, no?
i like it, it is pretty

 

I don't have the knowledge to know whether it is Peranakan or not. But just wanted to say that I like it, too!

 

I get the feeling the phoenix could be replacing something else that may have been lost. It is a different colour, and looks a bit out of place. It looks handmade and the details are chased.
Maybe a Peranakan silversmith added the bird to a Japanese belt?
The lobed surround is also chased, with that twisting technique, I don't know the name.
The blossoms and clovers look dye cast or a similar larger scale manufacturing technique, you can see the lower left part of the leaf has the same detail missing on both these clover leaves:


All in all a gorgeous belt, possibly multi-cultural.

Maybe @Hollyblue can see if the two are a marriage?

 

Why someone would do that RIGHT on the face of a perfectly LOVELY belt, is beyond me and beyond reason!!!! Unless they just had NO CLUE what they were doing!!

 

It doesn't look like a marriage since the mesh is the same on the buckle and belt.A photo of the back of the buckle might help a little.

 

The back of the buckle...



I had my doubts about if it's silver, but I thought I'd buy it on the off-chance it was. It didn't cost me much, all up about $20.00.

 

I meant just the bird, since it looks so different from the other decorations.

Aussie dollars? That's a bargain, and a very nice belt.

 

that's a bargain indeed!
anyhoo, the belt end clover leaves are deliberately flattened compared with the others. must be "commissioned"? certainly won't fit skinny little me

 

I'm sure we can find you one.
Will this Peranakan belt do?


https://www.michaelbackmanltd.com/archived_objects/peranakan-aceh-style-silver-belt/