1911.29.71

Collection type

Object

Description

Shoe buckle of copper alloy metal top decoration, with iron chape. [MJD (Verve) 17/5/2016]

Long description

Shoe buckle of copper alloy metal top decoration, with iron chape. The top decoration of the buckle is rectangular and convex curved. [MJD (Verve) 17/5/2016]

Geographical reference

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

England Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire Forest Hill with Shotover Shotover Hill

Person

Maker Unknown Maker

Field collector Percy Manning

PRM source Percy Manning

Date

Date collected

By 1911

Acquisition information

Donated: 1911

Materials and processes

Material Metal, Material Iron Metal, Material Copper Alloy Metal

Dimensions

Length: max 80 mm, Width: max 52 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1911.29.71

Research and responses

The V&A website mention shoe buckles being fashionable from the end of the 18th century and still being worn in formal court dress into the 20th century. Buckles were mass produced in the Midlands but workshops in Woodstock near Oxford were manufacturers of expensive buckles. [http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78521/shoe-buckles-ballantine-william/ accessed 30/03/2015] Wikipedia puts shoe buckles even earlier dating them from mid 17th century. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_buckle accessed 30/03/2015] [MJD 30/03/2015]

This type of buckle is described in American Artifacts of Personal Adornment, 1680-1820: A Guide to Identification and Interpretation by Carolyn L. White. The chape is a 'cooking pot' shaped loop with two spikes and a forked tongue. (page 42). [MJD (Verve) 17/5/2016]

Search terms: Ornament, Clothing Footgear, Buckle, Shoe