Pelican sash buckle?

[john845]

. I dug this up today near a old cellar hole. It looks like a belt slid through the three bars on the back. There are long neck birds on each corner with out stretched wing. I am not sure what type of metal. I think its plated brass but not positive. Has anyone ever seen this before? Is it a sash buckle or something similar?

 

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[lairmo]

Looks like Swans?

 

[john845]

Some type of long neck bird

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Beautiful Victorian sash buckle find John, I've never seen a design like that before.
There's likely to be a patent number or an identifying makers mark on the back.

As lairmo suggested, your "pelicans" are more likely long-necked swans.

"The Swan symbolizes grace and beauty on many levels. It is associated with love, music, and poetry. In Roman mythology the Swan was sacred to Venus, the goddess of love. In Greek tradition, this bird was often pictured singing to a lyre. In England, the swan is a symbol of loyalty and strength. The Swan is a royal bird and it is even illegal to kill a swan in the United Kingdom. Swans are present in many European fairy tales, symbolizing chastity (partly because of their white plumage), artistry, and beauty. On a related note, Swans are associated with fidelity, loyalty in marriage, and monogamy, because they mate for life."

Dave

 

[basssmann]

john845, that's quite a fancy buckle.... very nice my friend... basssmann

 

[tamrock]

It's different than most of the womens buckles I'm seeing that date around the later 19th C. To me it has an art nouveau style to it which dates from the 1890s to the early 1900s. Being brass, it may have had a gold wash finish when new. Pretty fancy!.

 

[john845]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't found any markers marks it yet. I need to clean it some more

 

[ARC]

Test this for silver yet ?

On first glance I thought small picture frame ...Art Nuevo.

Off for a sash buckle IMO.. but hey I see new stuff everyday so...

Oh... and they are swans.

 

[john845]

I'm still cleaning it up. I'm not sure what type of metal its made from. I don't think its silver.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

In your pics the metal looks to be zinc or pot metal, so it was likely plated in gold or silver in the beginning.

Pot Metal - There is no metallurgical standard for pot metal. Common metals in pot metal include zinc, lead, copper, tin, magnesium, aluminum, iron and cadmium. The primary advantage of pot metal is that it is quick and easy to cast. Because of its low melting temperature, it requires no sophisticated foundry equipment or specialized molds. Manufacturers sometimes use it to experiment with molds and ideas (e.g., prototypes) before casting final products in a higher quality alloy.

Depending on the exact metals "thrown into the pot", pot metal can become unstable over time, as it has a tendency to bend, distort, crack, shatter, and pit with age. The low boiling point of zinc and fast cooling of newly cast parts often trap air bubbles within the cast part, weakening it. Many components common in pot metal are susceptible to corrosion from airborne acids and other contaminants, and internal corrosion of the metal often causes decorative plating to flake off. Pot metal is not easily glued, soldered, or welded.

In the late nineteenth century, pot metal referred specifically to a copper alloy that was primarily alloyed with lead. Mixtures of 67% copper with 29% lead and 4% antimony and another one of 80% copper with 20% lead were common formulations. The primary component of pot metal is zinc, but often the caster adds other metals to the mix to strengthen the cast part, improve flow of the molten metal, or to reduce cost.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

Pretty cool whatever it is, nice find