GOLD AND SILVER MARRIAGE BELT Germany, 17th and l8th century elements.

Belt consisting of four silver sections separated by gold diamond shaped elements with applique ornamentation and gadrooned openwork borders. Silver sections consist of alternating triple row linked chain, and two separate chains made of links. At one end, gold diamond bears prong for closure; at other, belt ends in rectangular gold terminal with applique high-relief ornamentation and loop for hook. Near end of belt, openwork gold element with matching applique ornamentation, attached by silver ring. Gold terminal marked. L: 795mm.

Whether they were seen as a way to embellish the costume of every bride and groom in the community, regardless of financial means, or as symbols of commitment and fidelity, “marriage belts, known as Sivlonot Guertel, were very popular especiallly in Germany during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries... In some communities., the future bride and bride-groom exchanged giflts, known as Sivlonot. These were usually of silver for the groom, and gilt or gold for the bride, and were worn during the wedding ceremony.” Christie’s, Judaica, Amsterdam, June 19, 1991, Lot 152. For a depiction of a German Jewish bride wearing a marriage belt with dangling ornament, see Frankfurt Jewish Museum Catalogue, Moritz Daniel Oppenheim: Jewish Identity in Nineteenth Century Art (1999), p. 287. For another example sold at auction, see Christie’s, Judaica, Amsterdam, June 1991, Lot 152.