Art Nouveau Sterling Silver Dragon Buckle

Art Nouveau Sterling Silver Dragon Buckle

A wonderfully theatrical Art Nouveau silver buckle, beautifully modelled with a fantastical dragon entwined amongst flowing, organic scrollwork. The sinuous lines and mythical subject perfectly capture the fascination with nature, fantasy and fluid form that characterised jewellery and decorative arts around the turn of the twentieth century.

Details

• Date: Circa 1890–1910
• Period: Art Nouveau
• Material: Sterling silver [subject to confirmation of marks]
• Design: Dragon / mythical creature amongst scrolling foliate decoration
• Type: Belt or dress buckle
• Dimensions: 7 x 5 cm 
• Construction: Openwork cast and modelled silver with central buckle fitting
• Marks: Full Sterling silver Hallmarks
• Origin: Art Nouveau

Condition

Excellent antique condition, with signs of age and use consistent with a piece dating from around the turn of the twentieth century.

The silver retains attractive definition to the modelled decoration, with areas of natural patination helping to emphasise the wonderfully elaborate dragon and scrolling design.

Please refer closely to the photographs, which form part of the description.

History

Art Nouveau emerged during the closing years of the nineteenth century and rejected the rigid historical revival styles that had dominated much Victorian design. Instead, designers embraced flowing lines, natural forms, fantasy and symbolism.

Dragons, serpents, insects and other fantastical creatures became particularly effective subjects for Art Nouveau jewellery and accessories, their sinuous bodies lending themselves perfectly to the movement’s characteristic curves and asymmetry.

Decorative buckles were an important fashion accessory around 1900. Often worn prominently at the waist, they allowed jewellers and silversmiths to create pieces considerably larger and more sculptural than conventional jewellery.

This wonderfully elaborate example combines the practical function of a dress or belt buckle with the exuberant decorative qualities of a miniature piece of silver sculpture.

Heritage House Note

A fabulous example of jewellery becoming wearable art. We particularly love the wonderfully eccentric dragon twisting through the scrolling silverwork — decorative, slightly theatrical and unmistakably Art Nouveau. Today, it would be equally beautiful worn as intended or simply collected and displayed as a miniature work of decorative art.