Three-piece pendent buckle of Duke Casimir VI/IX (1557-1605)

A three-piece silver buckle belongs to a set of belt and baldric fittings, excavated from one of the Pomeranian dukes' sarcophagi in the crypt of the castle church in Szczecin. The fittings belonged to the ducal attire sewn from green velvet and decorated with golden cord embroideries. The outfit consisted of a waist-cut doublet with a baskin and tight trousers reaching the knees, then called canons, combined with very short outer trousers made of stiffened, folded underneath narrow strips of fabric. The whole was completed with a high cap with a wide brim, an aigrette embroidered with pearls and metal thread, and a pair of silk stockings.

A matching outfit was depicted on one of the posthumous dukes' portraits, kept until World War II in the Castle Church in Szczecin (a lost picture, known from archival photographs). It is known that it depicted Pomeranian Duke Barnim X (XII) (1549-1603) or his brother Casimir VII (IX) (1557-1605), who died two years later, and on that basis, it was established that the silver fittings were elements of a baldric belonging to one of those two rulers.

Apart from the three-part buckle, the set of belt and baldric elements includes belt end fittings, two belt loops, buckles with a hook for attaching a thong supporting a rapier scabbard to the belt, as well as buckles of various sizes. The silver decorations are covered with a plant-zoomorphic engraved decoration on a black unglazed background. The central decorative motif of the three-part buckle are depictions of two birds of prey amidst foliage, probably falcons. The button in the central part of the buckle was decorated with a stylised carnation motif popular during the Renaissance.

Monika Frankowska-Makała