Belt - Judaica - Gallery - Adorned Histories

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Belt - Judaica

Posted by Peter Hoesli on December 25, 2014 at 10:02am

I have purchased this belt out of Israel. It looks to me like a Jewish ATONEMENT BELT.It is stunning and the silver work is excellent - it is very smooth and the silver feels very soft.The coins are very special:The buckle is made out of two medals. Until now, I could identify one as follows: German medal, minted on the occasion of the wedding between Joseph II with Josepha of Bavaria - 1766.There are 3 Dutch coins - Dukaten of 1785 (2) and 1764.The star of this belt seems to be a British coin of George II of 1739 - I have seen the same coin listed for over USD3,000.- (of course as a loose coin - coins manufactured into jewelry loose some of their value...).I will bring it after Christmas to a specialist to evaluate. I am usually not doing this but this belt is very intriguing.

Comments

Eva Baby December 25, 2014 at 11:45am

I like it a lot, it Looks really Special and the coins are superb.
Mustafa J. Salem December 25, 2014 at 12:44pm

It looks beautiful and very well crafted. It is nice that you are able to identify some of the coins. It certainly seems very old and hence, valuable. I hope that you will be able to get good expert to correctly date it for you.

Congratulations for the good find..Mustafa
Linda Pastorino December 27, 2014 at 7:51am

this is very good quality . What is an Atonement belt? When is it worn? It's a beautiful piece.
Leonor Arnó December 27, 2014 at 8:36am

It is really a wondeful belt, congratulations!
Peter Hoesli December 27, 2014 at 12:49pm

Dear All; Many thanks for your messages.

Wikipedia: Yom Kippur, also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jewish people traditionally observe this holy day with an approximate 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.

I am not a specialist in such matters and can be mistaken, but I understand that this particular belt was worn during some festivities. When looking at the coins on this belt, especially the front medals, they have significance – “magnas inter opes inops” or translated “the great wealth of the poor”.

By the way, there are some Atonement belts/buckles listed on eBay.

I hope that I was accurate in the above explanation. Again, I am not a specialist and would appreciate if someone, who knows more about such belts could comment.

Regards. Peter