Posted 10 years ago
JulieA
(1 item)
I do not remember where I picked this treasure up, only that it has been in my posession for over 20 years. In all that time and many inquiries throughout the years, nobody has been able to tell me where this came from, only possibilities. One recent possibilitiy is the it was givin to retired high ranking officers of the US calvery after the civil war. This derived only from the marking on the back of the eagle and shield with a star and stripes on the shield and wheat sheafs in eagles claw.
This buckle in very heavy, measures about 5 inches long and 3 wide.
The figure in your buckle is a representation of a female figure found in pieces of artwork by Alphonse Mucha. The figure is referred to as a Byzantine Head. These have been cast, and recast for quite a few years. Many of them have "Mucha 99" cast in the lower left edge of the figure. I believe the modern era castings of these started in the 1960's when Mucha and Art Nouveau were going through a bit of a revival. The eagle and shield may simply have been a detail added by the company that cast this version to indicate a US origin. Cool piece... I have had a couple of these.
If you Google "Mucha Byzantine head" and go to images, you will examples of the original artwork the buckle is based on.
Sorry but the eagle was not depicted that way in the American military until 1902. I think the fastener may have had a different original purpose.
Chris
Hi there
Beautiful piece, I couldn't help but notice the back of your buckle and the back of my superman buckle are the same. I agree with welzebub, the Eagles were added to show they were made in the USA.