An Italian Army Officer's Cross Belt c. 1930s-1940s

Belt consists of two pieces, each with a gold-coloured bullion wire upper, herringbone pattern design incorporated in the centre, the edges trimmed in a repeating v-shaped pattern, the uppers stitched in place upon black felt backers, each piece with a synthetic core, two insignias affixed to the belt's upper that appears on the wearer's front, a 67.5 mm x 106 mm silvered zinc crowned eagle with raised wings and a shield bearing a cross upon its chest, a 58.5 mm x 107.5 mm shield consisting of a two-piece construction, with a bronze crowned cypher of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy affixed to a silvered die-stamped metal shield outlined in oak leaves and acorns, with roses in the two upper corners of the shield, two large feather-tailed arrows protruding from the top of the shield, the two insignias linked by two chains incorporating multiple figure-eight knots. The part of the belt that appears on the wearer's back has two 73 mm x 96.5 mm silvered die-stamped metal crescent-shaped brackets outlined in oak leaves and acorns, with roses at either end facing each other, 72 mm x 75 mm butting silvered die-stamped insignias underlying the brackets, consisting of a single matching crescent-shaped bracket outlined in oak leaves and acorns, with roses at either end butting a rectangular bracket incorporating a floral motif, loops with bronze spring-loaded clips placed at either end, the belt measuring 63 mm x 1,050 mm. The synthetic core has been exposed on the shorter piece of the belt and has become brittle and fragmented, scattered silvering wear evident on the metal parts, wear present on the felt backer, light soiling on the upper. 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.