Galičnik bride's costume, silver alloy clasp (pafta or kolen) and coin-belt (nizalka)

A woman's silver plated copper alloy belt clasp ('pafta' or 'kolen'), in two parts, with an embossed and chased central boss extending into pointed ogee shapes at top and bottom, flanked by two rectangular side panels, the central boss attached to one of the side panels. Decorated with repoussé foliate ornament. Fastened with hook and eye. The copper alloy contains some silver (in addition to the silver plating) with a small amount of arsenic as a whitener.

Text from Eth Doc 1892, no. 86k: A silver buckle, a 'pafta', or 'kolen'. Made by silversmiths and imported from towns noted for such work, such as Skopje, Ohrid, Veles, Gostivar etc. But at the turn of the twentieth century and earlier they came from Kotor on the Dalmatian coast and even from Isanbul. The buckle is decorated by several techniques – beating, embossing, chastening, and is plated onto a copper base. In two parts, the central boss and side panel is linked to another side panel by hook and eye. Worn over the upper sash mounted on a special richly decorated cloth and metal thread (gold and silver) belt, called a ‘Čarprazi’, part of the bride’s dowry. The Mijaks are a matriarchal society of Albanian origin.
Religion: Macedonian Orthodox.
For other parts of this attire see: 139: jacket; 140: shirt / chemise; 141a + b: bridal sleeves; 142: waistcoat; 143: coat; 144: upper sash; 145: bridal apron; 146: headscarf; 147: scarf; 148: socks; 150: head decoration; 151: coin chain.Information supplementary to Eth Doc:
'Pafta' is the general name for a belt clasp, 'kolen' is probably the local name. This piece is likely to date from the 1870s-80s (K. Ward, Sept 2009). For a similar clasp worn as part of a festive costume of the Mijak people, see G. Zdravev, 'Macedonian Folk Costumes', Skopje 1996, col. pl. 14. See also N.M. Kalashnikova, 'The collection of Belts in the Russian Museum of Ethnography', St Petersburg 2014, p. 252, for a similar clasp from Bitola region attached to a woven wool belt.
For a detailed description of the giving of such clasps to the bride and how they were worn as part of the Galićnik wedding ceremony and costume, see Eu1997,04.131