Far East Silver Dragon Belt

[Dannd]

Hello!

I have a piece that has me confused and I was hoping some of the experts here may possibly recognize the piece or the style and point me in the right direction. When I first saw this belt I had just read a book on Russian jewelry through the centuries and the design of the belt links and clasp resembled very closely the photos in the book of belts from the 17th-18th centuries. I dont believe this belt to be anywhere close to that age (in fact its probably modern) but I was hoping someone else would recognize its design and hopefully lead me in a direction especially to its origin. I apologize as I am not sure if its required to add a photo of any markings on the piece as this has none. Im also having a hard time acid testing the piece as I dont believe it to be high purity silver as the silver acid test produces a milky bluish color and the 18k gold test (for testing sterling) dissolves it. It polishes up nicely into a very bright silver and it is not plated but a solid piece. Any insights would be great! Thank you for taking the time to look at my piece!

[davidross]

Hello,

There having been no comment on this post, let me make a few suggestions. First, as is often stated in the Forum, embedded images usually get a better response as many people will not open links. Second, the dimensions of the belt (in particular, the length) might help determine whether it was intended for a man or a woman, which might narrow down the search considerably.

To me, the belt looks like local production for a local market in either the Straits or perhaps northern Thailand or neighboring countries (Burma, Cambodia, Laos).

The dragon on the buckle is rather abstractly and crudely executed, and the repeated stamping of some design elements (the six-dot "C" representing dragon scales) suggests the use of simple hand tools. In other words, the buckle must have been made in a time and at a place where manual labor was plentiful and cheap, and modern manufacturing still undeveloped. I would rule out China, as the majority of Chinese silver or white metal belts dating from the late 19th century to mid 20th century are made from large cast pieces linked together, rather than this chain mail construction. Also, I think that in China, the dragon would have been finished with finer details.

The belt has some distinctive features such as the clasp holding the chain mail to the buckle and the two-pronged buckle. Comparing the clasp as well as the buckle with similar belts with either identified marks or established provenance would be one line of inquiry.

Without marks, of course, my comments are little more than guesswork and should only be read as such. Sorry that I cannot be of much help, but with patience most of these riddles are eventually solved.

Regards,
DR