A hand-carved overlay sterling silver belt buckle set on a tan brown bridal leather belt. This belt is a mix of found pieces and hand-craft at its finest. We have partnered with our longterm belt maker, based in England, to create this combination of the best of old and new.

With more than twenty five years producing the finest handmade leather articles crafting everything from saddle and tack, all the way through to small leather goods, and belts our partner beings the very best out of these sourced buckles. He has partnered with many of the biggest names in luxury retail to help make the highest quality articles that will stand the test of time.

The leather selected is English, oak tanned, bridal leather with a fine creased edge line hand applied to the belt's edge. It comes from the last tannery in England still using oak tanning to produce their leather. The buckle itself is beautiful hand stitched onto the leather belt.

The buckle on this belt is an example of fine silver overlay craftsmanship by one of the best known names; Verden Mansfield.Actively creating jewelry since 1974, Verden Mansfield has mastered the art of Hopi overlay, creating intricate katsina figures in sterling silver overlay. Verden is the son of Vernon Mansfield who taught him the fine art of Hopi silver jewelry. His fine, detailed work was rewarded recognition at the 2002 Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial with a Best in Category award. Verden passed his father's teachings on to his own son, another great young Hopi silversmith, Chris Mansfield.

The overlay technique is constructed through a piece of silver with a design carved into it, creating a negative design, this is then laid over a second piece of silver, or gold, and soldered together. First, the artist painstakingly cuts a design out of silver. The designs must be carefully carved out, a very intricate detailed and important step in the whole process. This dimensional pattern in the silver is then soldered onto a sheet of plain silver, the inside relief area is then oxidized to created a black matte background from the polished silver front.

While Hopis are considered to be masters of the overlay technique, many other tribes utilize overlay in their work. Navajo overlay can be just as technically impressive, yet the designs and symbols will differ greatly. One way to differentiate Hopi and Navajo overlay, other than subject matter, is the etching of the base layer of silver. The artists of the Hopi tribe will usually have a finely etched texture on the base layer while Navajos will leave the silver beneath smooth. This can be seen in this buckle under close inspection where there are fine engraved lines enhancing the movement in the design work on the front piece.

The buckle depicts a scene of Hopi Katsina, or Katchinas in other tribes. The Katsinas are holy spirits that live upon the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona and other sacred mountains in the Southwest. During the period beginning with the Winter Solstice and extending to about mid-July, masked dancers initiated into the various clans of the Hopi Pueblos impersonate these spirits.

Men portray both the male and female spirits and when an initiate wears the mask of his Kachina, he becomes that spirit personified. During the open dances, the Kachinas dance in the plaza or from kiva to kiva distributing the Kachina dolls, toy bows, rattles, fruit and sweets to the children between dances.

Kachina dolls and imagery have long been a tradition among the Hopi tribes. They also have spiritual significance for the Navajo and are commonly crafted by Navajo artists.

The closure is achieved through a small hook on the inside back of the buckle. It is likely hand carved in America, although it is unsigned. The belt is unsized, with no holes having been punched into the leather. Once purchased, any shoe repair shop will be able to add holes in order to make sure the belt fits exactly to your specifications.

The current length of the belt is forty seven and a half inches long and one and one third inches wide, plus the buckle being three inches long. The leather can also be cut to make it shorter, if so desired.