Antique Alexander Ritchie Silver Iona Shoe Buckles

We recently sourced a wonderful pair of antique Alexander Ritchie sterling silver shoe buckles. The buckles are classic early Alexander Ritchie silver designs and bear wonderful zoomorphic beasts and celtic knotwork. The original leathers are still with the silver shoe buckles.

The hallmarks are rather indistinct. However with the CS * FS mark they are dated pre 1910. Looking at the Chester date letter we think it may well be the top of a capital B with a date of 1902.

Size.45mm x 60mm

Weight - per buckle. 20gm

The earliest Iona silver items of Alexander Ritchie date from the first decade of the 20th century, and most bear a double mark of AR IONA impressed into separate rectangles, and a further mark of CS & FS. ( the & is sometimes replaced by a star as is the case with these buckles ). These silver buckles were made prior to 1910, when the firm of Cornelius Saunders and Francis Shepherd - Birmingham submitted Alexander Ritchie’s silverwork through the Chester Assay Office.

Alexander Ritchie’s own mark was registered with the Chester assay office in 1910.

Alexander Ritchie (1856–1941) and Euphemia Ritchie (1862–1941) met at the Glasgow School of Art, and married in 1898. They moved to the island of Iona and opened a shop and silversmithing workshop. Their business was successful and the couple created the brand "Iona Celtic Art".

The Ritchies were active during the Arts and Crafts movement, which was present in Scotland as well as internationally. They took inspiration from Celtic culture and produced jewelry with Celtic designs.