Owl Face Belt Hook: Research Fail

After making the loops for my new belt clasp, I went looking for options for the S-hook that were not snakes or swans. In the process, I ran across this link that pretty much blows a hole in the idea that the lion head belt terminals I found are actually 16th century. They seem to be more of the 18th century military belt clasp type. I’m going back through 16th century portraits now, and so far all I’m finding are surface-mounted terminals like I used on my old belt. I’m also less sure now about the zoomorphic decoration on the hooks for 16th century belts, but I think that will stand up in the end.

Edited to add: I managed to find a few examples that were clear enough to see what’s going on with the clasp. Surface mounted loops, as I expected, but also no clear evidence of the zoomorphic S-hook. There was more variety than I expected, and less surface decoration on the hooks, so that may be a blessing in disguise, from a casting standpoint. There seem to be both S-shaped hooks and sort of curvy M-shaped hooks as well…

Updated: January 7, 2012 — 11:17 am