This unusual buckle from the Reynolds Tavern site in Annapolis first crossed
my path in 2022 when one of my colleagues asked if I’d seen anything like
it (Figure 1). I hadn’t, and that had me flustered because buckles occupy a
fair amount of space in my mental filing system. Fortunately, I collect antique
clothing and accessories as a hobby, so I have experience shopping for this
type of thing online!
It didn’t take many search terms before I landed on a similar buckle for sale
labeled as a “sash buckle.” That example—which I bought,of course, along with
five more since—showed what the folding buckle would have looked like when
whole (Figure 2). The Reynolds Tavern buckle is missing the spring mechanism
that would have kept it closed and the central pin that held the tines. These
buckles are highly decorative and meant to be seen, so I’ve found a lot of
examples shown in portraits of women from throughout Europe and the US (Figure 3).
The portraits typically date between 1835 and 1840.
Figure 1. Gilt sash buckle from Reynold’s Tavern in Annapolis (18AP23/840).
Previous decades had women in relatively narrow silhouettes and high-waisted gowns,
but waistlines moved down in the 1820s and 1830s as both sleeves and skirts
took on more volume. In the 1830s, the trendy waistline for gowns was straight and
sat just above the natural waist. Women frequently wore a sash that buckled at
the front to accentuate this waistline.
Figure 2. Examples of complete sash buckles like the Reynold’s Tavern buckle.
All are at least three times longer than they are wide, and all have a hinged
fastening mechanism that is hidden by the buckle front when closed. Private
collection of the author.
A sash is a strip or loop of cloth fashioned to wear around the waist or over the shoulder,
so it’s not quite like the belts we use today; the buckle and strip of cloth are not
permanently joined, and sashes weren’t needed to hold garments up like belts sometimes
do. Instead, portraits typically show women wearing sash buckles to fasten a wide ribbon
that complements the gown.
In the 1840s, Gothic Revival styles ushered in a craze for deep V-shaped waistlines and
wide ribbons did not mesh well with this elongated style. The latest portrait I’ve found
with this buckle is that of 23-year-old Harriet A. Glines of Maine who was painted by
her fiancée Johnathan Adams Bartlett in 1841 (Figure 4). Miss Glines wears a narrow
ribbon as a waist sash that follows her V-shaped waistline. However, her sash buckle
looks out of proportion and appears to have minimal material to hold onto.
Her portrait illustrates why this style of sash buckle likely fell out of favor.
Figure 3. Examples of sash buckles in American and European portraits,
including details of the waist. Top left: Carmen Moreno, Marquesa de las Marismas
del Gualalquivir, Spain, c. 1833. Top Center: Mme. Augustine Massicot Tanneret,
Louisiana. The date is given as c. 1835 by the National Portrait Gallery, but
they also list the sitter as being born in 1825. Since this young woman is
certainly older than 10 years of age, and she has narrow sleeves more
characteristic of the late 1830s, the c. 1835 date seems too early. Top right:
Innkeeper Barbara Meyer, Austria, c. 1836. Bottom left: Josefine Schwartz von
Mohrenstern, Vicomtesse Goupy de Quabeck, Austria, c. 1837. Bottom center:
Jeanette Woolley, American, c. 1838. Bottom right: Lady with gigot sleeves
by Hungarian painter August Shoefft, c. 1836.
I suspect that the Reynolds Tavern sash buckle dates to the end of the trend, because
its openwork decoration and slight V-shape has a Gothic Revival look. It might have
been an attempt to adapt elongated sash buckles to V-shaped waists. Still, folding
sash buckles with a closed front seem to disappear from portraits in the 1840s.
So far portraits suggest these buckles have a relatively narrow date range.
Conservatively, the buckles date to c. 1830-1845, but the majority seem to appear
between 1835 and 1840. That makes this type of buckle extremely valuable to
archaeologists, because it is diagnostic of a tight time period.The buckle was also
a widespread trend, depicted on women of all ages across the Western world. That
makes this buckle something that archaeologists call a “horizon,” or an artifact
type that is widespread, but only for a relatively short period of time. A horizon
helps archaeologists assign a date, not just to the buckle, but also the layer of
soil where the buckle was recovered and the other artifacts found in association
with the buckle. That is always one of the goals in artifact analysis.
Knowing that this style of sash buckle dates to the 1830s is helpful to me as a
collector as well. I love that era, but I can’t generally afford to buy
surviving gowns from the 1830s. Even if I could, they would take up a lot of
space. Instead, I can satisfy my love of the decade’s fashions by searching
for affordable sash buckles that are both beautiful and easily stored. Since I
first saw the Reynolds Tavern example, I can’t seem to stop looking for these,
and I keep adding the ones I can afford to my collection. I love them all!
Figure 4. Portrait (and detail of sash) of Harriet A. Glines, later
Mrs. Johnathan Adams Bartlett, c. 1841. Painted by Johnathan Adams Bartlett,
South Rumford, Maine. © The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
References
Carmen Moreno, Marquesa de las Marismas del Gualalquivir
c. 1833 By Francisco Lacoma y Fontanet,
Spanish painter (1784-1849). Museum of Romanticism, Madrid.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carmen_Moreno,_marquesa_de_las_Marismas_del_Guadalquivir_(Museo_del_Romanticismo_de_Madrid).JPG
accessed April 25, 2025.
Mme Augustine Massicot Tanneret
c. 1835 Louisiana. By Jacques Amans, French
painter (1801-1888). National Portrait Gallery, Obj. DLR1050.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Mme_Augustine_Massicot_Tanneret_by_Amans.jpg
accessed April 25, 2025.
Innkeeper Barbara Meyer
c. 1836 By Johann Baptist Reiter, Austrian painter
(1813-1890). Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Object ID 2456.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reiter%E2%80%93Barbara_Meyer,_1836.jpg
accessed April 25, 2025.
Josefine Schwartz von Mohrenstern, Vicomtesse Goupy de Quabeck
c. 1837 By Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Austrian
artist (1793-1865). Wien Museum, Inv.-Nr. 43466, CC BY 4.0, Photo by Birgit and Peter Kainz.
https://sammlung.wienmuseum.at/en/object/122491/
accessed April 25, 2025.
Jeanette Woolley
c. 1838 later Mrs. John Vincent Storm. By
Ammi Phillips, American artist (1788-1865). Brooklyn Museum, 69.7.
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/1438
accessed April 28, 2025.
August Schoefft
c. 1836 Lady with à gigot bouffant sleeves.
By August Schoefft, Hungarian painter (1809-1888).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Josef-August_Schoefft_-_Lady_with_%C3%A0_gigot_bouffant_sleeves.jpg
accessed April 25, 2025.
Harriet A. Gines
c. 1841 (later Mrs. Johnathan Adams Bartlett, c. 1841.
By Johnathan Adams Bartlett, American (Maine) painter (1817-1893). The Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation, Object No. 1976.100.3.
https://emuseum.history.org/objects/27399/portrait-of-harriet-a-glines-later-mrs-jonathan-adams-ba?ctx=9ed2edf6ddcd4ae84e7ec43417ee852dc55fdde6&idx=0
accessed April 25, 2025.