If you wait long enough, almost anything will show up at the flea-market – even stuff you might never imagine.

I bought this really nifty silver belt from one of the regular dealers at my local market. Lovely person, beautiful stuff for sale…but that didn’t mean they had a clue about what this item was. But then, with something like this, that’s not very surprising.

Belts worn by the Peranakan-Chinese (both men and women, although it was more common with women) were largely made of high-grade silver, high-grade gold, or else cheap, nickel-silver, for costume jewelry. They were found up and down the Malay peninsula, from southern Thailand or Siam, through Malaysia, Singapore, and around the Indonesian Islands.

Because of this wide spread, there are many different styles of Peranakan belts. Panel-belts, layered belts, chain belts, coin belts, mesh belts…there are even Peranakan belts which aren’t silver at all (except, perhaps for the buckle) – but are instead, made of the same beadwork embroidery which was used to produce Peranakan slippers, handbags and other such decorative items.

My friend at the market didn’t know anything about this belt. It was surmised that it was made in China during the Qing Dynasty, that it was an export-piece, and that it was solid silver…and that was all they knew, despite my questioning.

I examined the belt and the more I looked at it and how it was made, and what it was made of (if, indeed, that was true), the more I began to doubt the idea that this was made in China, for foreign export. Yes, it has Chinese hallmarks on it, but just because marks are in Chinese doesn’t mean it was made there…or even that it’s silver.

For one thing, Qing-Dynasty Chinese export-silver was mostly sold to the European and North American markets. I’ve never heard of a Chinese export-silver belt. Trays, tea-sets, coffee-sets, silverware dinner-sets, walking-stick handles, cigar/cigarette cases, even cruet-sets, sure…but belts? Eeehh…never.

Not saying they don’t exist, but in 20 years of messing around with antiques, and ten years of selling them, I’ve never heard of such a thing.

Despite these misgivings, I decided to buy the belt. It was offered at a good price, so I bought it on the off-chance that it might be something more than it seemed.

Researching the Belt

I started by looking up Chinese export-silver belts, and as I initially expected – there really wasn’t much to be found. The only silver belts I could find with an even tangential link to anything approaching China, were those manufactured, and worn, by the Straits-Chinese…also known as the Peranakan. Then I started finding belts almost identical to mine, which I started recognising as distinctly Peranakan styles…which made me stop and think.

From the moment of purchasing the belt, I hadn’t really considered the possibility that the belt was Peranakan – it just seemed an idea too far-fetched to be true, but now I began thinking that perhaps it was!

Increasingly curious about this turn of events, I started asking questions from other dealers and collectors online, who all confirmed my suspicions, but I still had one area of uncertainty, which was the Chinese hallmark stamped into the belt.

Researching the Hallmark

There were what appeared to be two hallmarks on the belt, both stamped on the back of the buckle. The only mark which was halfway recognisable was a two-character mark, which after researching, I found was the Chinese mark of “Zu Yin” (“Pure Silver”). The problem is that Chinese silver marks like this can (and are) faked, and can be applied to other things like pewter or nickel to con unsuspecting buyers. Because of that, I wasn’t going to be sure about anything without getting the belt assayed, first.

To allay all doubts, I took the belt to a jeweler I know, for a professional opinion. He conducted a couple of small, non-invasive tests and was sure the belt was 93.5% silver – 1% higher than sterling. Not exactly the “pure silver” of the hallmark, but high enough to dispel any lingering concerns I had!

Where did the Belt Come From?

To sum up, all indications are that the belt was manufactured in southern Thailand (indicated by the style of the buckle, and belt-strap), by a Peranakan-Chinese silversmith (indicated by the Chinese hallmarks), during the late 1800s (suggested by the size of the belt and the purity of the silver). It truly is a beautiful piece of history, and a fascinating Peranakan cultural artifact, which I’m so glad to add to my collection, small as that collection may be.