Images(2)

Shoe Buckle

Date1785-1795

OriginEngland

MediumCopper alloy, iron, steel

DimensionsLength: 4 ¾ inches Width: 1 ¾ inches

Credit LineGift of the Valentine Museum, Richmond, VA

Object number2023-248,1

DescriptionVery large rectangular shoe buckle made from a copper alloy. The buckle is open worked with a series of connected circles and ovals. The chapes are made from iron and the long tines are reinforced with a bar .
Label TextMen and women fashionably wore shoe buckles from about the 1660s to the end of the 18th century. This buckle may have been silvered on the upper most surface to make it appear as if it was a true sterling silver buckle.
MarkingsNo Marks
ProvenanceOwned by Mary Greenhow Johnston [1881-1961] (Richmond, VA); 1958, given to The Valentine Museum (Richmond, VA); 2023, given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)