OTTOMAN SWORD BELT BUCKLE, 17TH CENTURY

Bronze, about 1 5/8” length of tapered form with a hook to receive a corresponding loop. The face is decorated with a concentric floral(?) figure with line borders and stipple cluster above. The reverse hollow to receive the belt with securing bar See Der Karlsruher Turkenbeute (The Karlsruhe Turkish booty) Hirmer #240 for a nearly identical example from the booty captured after the Siege of Vienna in 1683. After the battle, 20,000 wagon loads of booty were gathered from which the collection at the Karlsruhe Museum was formed. Thus, it is almost certain that any surviving 17th-century Turkish weapons or armor such as this was part of that massive booty.