Buckles: Details from the Setúbal Altarpiece, Jorge Afonso's workshop, 1520-1530 AD

The altarpiece panels show many metal buckles varying from very plain to highly decorative, comparable to the great variety of buckles from excavations in Medieval Oxford.

The three details are from the Calvary panel (plain trapezoidal buckle on leather sleeve), the Christ and Veronica panel (B-shaped belt buckle, probably gilt bronze) and the Martyr Saints of Morocco panel (very elaborate arrangement incorporating filigree goldwork).

© 1998 Oxfordshire Museum Service, Setúbal Museums and the Benaki Museum