Shoe buckles
Label Text
Artois buckles, large shoe buckles that curved dramatically to cover the instep of the foot, were at the height of fashion in the 1770s and 1780s. George Washington likely wore these silver buckles defined by a contrasting copper border on formal occasions. While the maker has not been identified, the maker's mark of two grains, "LC/F," and a shield is characteristic of those used by French silversmiths. Washington may have purchased these from a Philadelphia or New York jeweler with a large stock of imported goods, or he may have received them as a gift sent directly from France.
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Date1770-1790
Geography
Probably made -
France
Medium/TechniqueSilver, copper, steel
DimensionsOverall (A&B): 2 1/8 in. x 2 7/8 in. x 1 1/8 in. (5.41 cm x 7.32 cm x 2.87 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mary Mildred Sullivan and George Hammond Sullivan, 1917
Object numberW-458/A-B
DescriptionCurved rectangular shoe buckle; open frame with a line of copper and silver hobnails inserted into a silver frame with graining and a beaded inner and outer edge of copper; steel chape consisting of a double roll and two tined tongue; engraved in script on the high arched side of the buckle, "G. W."Published ReferencesCarol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2006), 221.
MarkingsA: Stamped on obverse of buckle: a partially obscured maker's mark, two grains, "LF/C", a shield; illegible mark.
B: Stamped on side wall and reverse of buckle: partially obscured maker's mark, two grains, "LF/C", a shield. Two additional illegible marks are stamped on the reverse of buckle along the same side as the maker's marks. Another illegible mark is stamped on the side of the frame that is engraved "GW".
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