18TH/19TH CENTURY

This type of belt would have been part of official dress and used to suspend purses, satchels, and implements used in daily life. Several examples of related belts with jade fittings suspending purses and various accessories in the Qing court collection are illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Costumes and Accessories of the Qing Court, Hong Kong, 2005, pp. 263-5, nos. 166-67, where they are dated to the early Qing dynasty.