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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Any Jewelry, post: 242637, member: 2844&quot;]My latest acquisition, a nice piece with a family association. And it fits!</p><p>[ATTACH=full]74307[/ATTACH]</p><p>It is a Madurese black velvet belt with goldwork embroidery and a silver and zircon buckle and slide.</p><p>In Indonesia gold was associated with the heavens and the divine representatives on earth, the kings. Gold and gold embroidery used to be reserved for royalty. Although I don&#039;t think this is actually gold, this still has the same restriction. The buckle and slide are silver, which means this belt was worn by a &#039;lesser&#039; royal.</p><p>Madura is a former island nation north of Java. It is in the middle of the spice route and comprises of 68 islands, in its heyday part of Java as well. A small nation with little arable land, the spice route provided a very good income through trade. Trade was banned for Madurese during most of the colonial period, with devastating results.</p><p>There were several courts and ruling families, with one supreme king, the Cakraningrat. Cakra comes from Sanskrit and means wheel or cycle, in this case the cycle of the cosmic order, ningrat means king or ruler. So a Cakraningrat is a ruler who has to make sure the law of cosmic order is followed on earth. In pre-colonial days the Cakraningrat was the one rulers of neighbouring kingdoms came to for council and mediation.</p><p>Cakraningrat (also Tjakraningrat) is originally a dynastic name, Cakraningrat I, II, etc., but during the colonization by the Dutch it became the surname of the royal family. I am a descendant of that family, so I collect anything with a Cakraningrat connection. This set was listed in an Art Nouveau auction. Right period, wrong style, so not many bidders. It has lost some stones and the belt is worn, but that&#039;s history for you.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]74310[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]74309[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Couldn&#039;t find pictures of Madurese courtiers, but this one of princess Partini of Surakarta (a distant relative) shows how the belt was worn. Her buckle is Central Javanese style.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]74311[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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