Silver belt buckle evidence of craftsmanship, social status from 2,000 years ago

Before buttons were invented, ancient Chinese used belts to fasten their garments. A belt buckle is a token of its owner's social status.

A silver belt buckle dating to the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) is a piece of luxury. It is arc-shaped in the form of a lute, with a green-jade hook on top. Three jade disks are inlaid into the gilded silver frame, each decorated with silkworm patterns. The central holes of the upper and lower rings are embedded with glass beads.

The belt buckle, boasting exquisite designs, combines the superb crafts of metal casting and jade carving over 2,000 years ago.

Excavated in 1951 from Guwei village, Huixian county, Henan province, the silver belt buckle is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of China.