Impressive Breast Clasp From the Schaumburg Country, Dated 1896

In some regions of Germany, elaborate pieces of jewellery are part of the typical wedding and festive costume. A very special piece from the Schaumburger Land at the foot of the Weserbergland west of Hanover is presented here. It is a shirt clasp, a typical wedding ornament of the eastern part of the country around Lindhorst, which the groom presented to the bride for the wedding. The oversized shirt clasp for the Lindhorst costume, also called breast clasp, is characterized by an octagonal shape and shows characteristic applications of sawn silver with a pair of birds and a heart under a crown. Furthermore, we see the monograms of the bride and groom with the year "1896" in which the wedding took place. The piece of jewellery, which measures about 13 cm, shows a trim of colourful glass stones in green and red. The unusual breast clasp is the treasured possession of a wealthy family of the Schaumburg region. It came to us from private property in Lower Saxony. Comparative examples can be found in the standard work by Gislind Ritz: Alter bäuerlicher Schmuck, Munich 1978, pp. 73-79. A postcard from the turn of the century shows a proud wearer of the Lindhorst costume with a comparable shirt clasp.

Estimate:$880.73

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