Pair of shoe buckles

Gold or silver buckles for shoes were in fashion for most of the 18th century. They gave the finishing touches to elegant dress and were one of the few pieces of jewellery worn by men as well as women. Gentlemen wore matching shoe and knee buckles.

Making buckles became a highly skilled craft at which English silversmiths and jewellers excelled. Exquisitely wrought designs, glittering pastes and precious stones reflected the status of the wearer as well as the occasion. Cheaper and plainer versions were made of steel, brass and other metal alloys.

This buckle features jasperware plaques mounted on cut steel – a brightly polished steel, usually with pierced or faceted decoration, which was popular from around the 1760s to the 1880s. Jasperware is a very fine-grained white stoneware that can be stained a range of colours. It was developed in the 1770s by the ceramic entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood, who sought to break into the cameo market by making small medallions of coloured jasperware with white relief.