No Idea

[Johnnyl1]

What the heck is this thing? An old buckle? Seems like it could be part of a frame? Maybe a decoration on a piece of furniture.. measures about 5" long, 3" wide....

[Johnnyl1]

Its decorated also, I at first thought it was some type of horseshoe..

[Jeff R]

I would say it is a buckle, and an old one at that. It looks hand made.
What kind of location did you find it in? And what was the depth?

[Johnnyl1]

Its a very old site... heres some more info. It is very thin, no marking on the back... is definitely not iron of any type. Also, it was totally bent in half when I found it... I tried to straighten it out a bit, and it broke in 2!!!
In a case it would look fine, but it looked like it got stepped on.

I just cant imagine it is that old... if you look in the pic on the right hand side you can see the break, looks like some type of copper or composite metal. It s very fragile.

[del]

i'd agree with jeff but its hard to tell if its a knee or shoe or other type of buckle from the picture how about a picture of the back and put something next to it to show how big it is . that would help , but it definetly looks colonial to me

[Brian]

Looks like a cast copper shuttle shaped buckle. Bit on the large size for a shoe buckle. Date 1720 to 1790.
The large size suggests more towards the 1790's as the Comte d' Artois started a fashion for oversized buckles in 1777.

[simonthesearcher]

I would say deffo a buckle,,the centre piece is missing but a very nice find.No idea on the age,,,more than likely early to mid 1800,s

[Johnnyl1]

Ill put some more pics up tonight... is there anyway to fix it / bond it... I am so pissed it broke, but the thing was literally bent in 1/2 and I would never be able to see any of the detail if i didnt straighten it.

I still cant believe its that old... i will photo the back also... just seems flimsy / brittle for a buckle, plus there is no curvature on it like there would be on a shoe buckle.

Where do you think it was worn? The knee?

More pics to come tonight.

[Johnnyl1]

Pic 1

[Johnnyl1]

Rear

[rustynail1]

It's a picture frame.

[Johnnyl1]

What makes you think its a frame?

Is everyone else still in the buckle camp...

It looks a helluva lot like this
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/bls/17751800...shoebuckle.htm

[rustynail1]

Now I think it's a shoe buckel good job! .............
Can I have it

[Johnnyl1]

So what do you guys think??

[DJS]

Originally Posted by rustynail1

It's a picture frame.

actually, thats kind of what I was thinking it looked like to, but I dont know enough about that stuff to really say...

[del]

it still looks like a buckle but a little small for a shoe buckle but i could be wrong . on the backside is there a spot where a small hole for a iron pin to go through the middle to the other side . this pin would hold the tongue and chap for a buckle like on these ones here

[Carol K]

Ok, here's a long shot

I'm going to suggest that it's a brooche.


I think it is too decorative to be a buckle

and too thin and small to be a frame.

[spittfire]

That was my thought too, it's a brooch!

[simonthesearcher]

I still think its a buckle,buckles from years back were very decorative but then again it could be a picture frame,,,,on third thoughts what about a brooch?,,Nope,i go for a buckle.If you look closely i think you can see where the centre cross piece was,,so its a buckle for me

[rustynail1]

Here's a shot in the dark, Could it be a brooch that once was a shoe buckle? A brooch shoe buckle that's it.