Images(2)

Shoe Buckle

Date1780-1790

OriginEngland

MediumSilver alloy, tin alloy, ferrous metals

Dimensions3 ½ inches long 2 ¼ inches wide

Credit LineGift of the Valentine Museum, Richmond, VA

Object number2023-248,2

DescriptionA large rectangular buckle with rounded corners. The buckle is made from small joined ovals with three dots in each end. The chapes are made from iron and steel. The tines that pierce the buckle strap have a reinforcement cross bar. The chapes also show the remains of bluing.
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.
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)