Folia archeologica 39.

Gerelyes Ibolya: Oszmán-török férfiöv az Esterházy-gyűjteményből

OTTOMAN MAN'S BELT FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE FAMILY ESTERHÁZY The Turkish collection of the Department of the Middle Ages of the Hungarian National Museum was enriched by a significant piece in spring of 1985. The object, a man's belt, got in to the museum in an adventurous way through several by-roads. The description of the object: The belt consists of 17 parts, which were sewn later, probably at the end of the last century, on the worn green velvet ribbon. 13 of the 17 parts were prepared in identical form and size (Fig. 1). One side of these mounts was prepared in ogival form, the other side in obtuse angle apt for fitting on the ogival one (Fig. 5 : 3). The base of the parts are two pressed gold plates, between which the mass fastening the plates was put. The surface of the upper gold plate is covered by intricately executed engraved foliate pattern. The holes serving for fastening the mount are clearly visible around its edges. The setting, containing a crescent-shoped light, grayish white nephrite is set on the upper gold plate. The nephrite is inlaid with a gold scroll blaring leaves and roses encrusted with rulios and garnets. The crescent-shaped nephrites embrace double stones of larger diameter, made of rock crystall at the top and green glass at the bottom. Twice two emerald pieces can be seen on the stems of the mounts. Among the 13 similar mounts we can find two different, round pieces. (Fig. 1; Fig. 5 : 1—2). Examining the back side of the mounts we could tell that originally they were parts of a belt-clip-pair-buckle, and they were fit on their present place only later, to replace the lost mounts. The buckle of the present beld did not, originally, belong to one set. (Fig.

6) This fact con be attested bv the divergences of the pieces in size and style. We hove no data, when the belt was composed. Probably it got into the possession of the Esterházy family already in this form, and only the original ribbon was later replaced by the present velvet one. The only thing what is sure concerning the origin of the object is that, as attested by the circumstances of its arrival in the collection, the princely branch of the Esterházy family owned it. It got in to the collection most probably in palatine Pál Esterházy's lifetime in the second half of the 17th century or perhaps at the end of the century. In the material of "Turkish booty" — getting into the European collections at the end of the 17th century -, and also in the Esterházy collecion preserved in the Museum of Applied Arts, there are a lot ot Turkish objects (saddles, harnesses and weapons), which are decorated similarly to our belt. (Fig. 3). Examining the pieces of Turkish goldsmith's craft in Istanbul we may also find analogous pieces of the Esterházy belt (Fig. 4). On the basis of the examined analogous pieces the belt may have been made in the second half of the 17th century. At last we must mention that in the inventory of the Fraknó treasury of the Esterházy family set up in 1721 — 1725 there is an item, which maybe identical with the belt of the Hungarian National Museum. According to the description it is "A very fine Turkish girdle of 17 clasps decorated with inlaid golden stones."