An Italian Officer's Belt & Buckle And Dagger Hangers

Buckle has a two-piece construction, with a bronze gilt and red and white enamelled insignia on a bronze gilt base on the right end, unmarked, the insignia illustrating the Italian eagle with its wings raised, its talons gripping a fasces, a red and white coat-of-arms on its chest, the eagle surmounted by the Royal crown, the face plate of the buckle measuring 44.5 mm x 66.5 mm. Belt is composed of two pieces stitched together, each piece with a maroon embroidered upper with three strips of fine gold-coloured wire stitched in place along the entire length of the belt, the reverse in maroon felt, bronze gilt loop stitched in place at the far right end with the loop sliding over the belt for length adjustment, bronze gilt receiving clip stitched in place at the junction of the two pieces of the belt, maroon felt-wrapped strap stitched to the underside at the rear near the top edge, two sliders with matching fine gold-coloured wire uppers, the upper measuring 52 mm wide, while the felt underside is slightly wider at 55 mm, the belt measuring 1,290 mm in length. Dagger hanger with two straps, each with three strips of fine gold-coloured wire and maroon embroidery stitched in place along the entire length on both sides of the straps, attached to a bronze gilt hanger with a large downward-facing open clip, a multi-link bronze gilt chain attached to the ends of the hanger and suspending an upward-pointing open clip, both straps with bronze gilt buckles near the ends and functioning bronze gilt spring-loaded clips at the ends, all parts unmarked, measuring 58 mm x 610 mm overall. Light soiling evident on the belt's upper and on the dagger hanger straps. Near extremely fine.

Footnote: From the collection of approximately 900 German buckles accumulated by John R. Angolia, who start collecting buckles, belts and brocades from 1944 until around 1990; most of the buckles were obtained from the American and German veterans; most of these buckles present a core of Angolia’s book “Belt Buckles & Brocades of the Third Reich”, published in 2001.