Silver-gilt and gold, inlaid belt plate

Silver-gilt and gold and garnet belt-plate, length 6.35cm. Long rectangular silver-gilt plate, probably hollow behind, but details obscured by plaster, which has at either short end a flange in lower plain with four dome headed rivets, only the corner ones served to attach plate to belt and backplate - the latter missing and replaced by paper. Soldered to the top of the raised part of the plate is gold cloisonné border 4.5mm wide, 2.5mm deep. Square cells at corners, and roughly in centre of long sides, the rest step-pattern cells. One of square cells at sides has piece of flat blue glass inset, prussian blue translucent, the other lost. Many of other cells empty, but all the remaining ones have flat garnets on chequered gold foil. The area surrounded by this cloisonné border is filled by a flat piece of sheet gold with fine beaded wire frame and central lengthwise division. In one panel thus formed is a row of elongated S-scrolls in beaded wire filigree, in the other a mixture of motifs, crude palmettes at either end, crude guilloche and small palmettes, and other odd rings, and figure-of-eight motifs for fill-up. This plate must have been stuck in. The whole plate has suffered badly, and been crudely repaired so impossible to tell exactly in what state it was when found. The filigree cloisonné frame does not quite fit the top of the silver base, leaving ragged ends exposed, where something has been lost. Similarly at the sides, there must have been something to protect the fragile gold cloisons. Conceivably there was a silver rim, i.e. the top of the silver plate was once recessed to take the cloisonné work, and the top of the sides has broken away - or else in repairing, the cloison plate has been replaced too high, and the original recess been filled in with plaster. Impossible to tell without taking it to pieces, and old drawings do not show side view, but certainly it was a neater job than at present.May be associated buckle BM 1862,0701.10 listed above. – D.H.