Description

Stamped metal belt buckle. Bronze colour. Laurel wreath border, entwined with ribbon. Half-length portrait of man holding a bat and boots over his shoulder. Tent in background. Flat hook on reverse with maker's logo Design registered in 1868

Display caption

Lot 624: 'The Aboriginals'. Victorian brass metal embossed belt buckle, depicting an Aboriginal cricketer with a bat over his shoulder to which his cricket boots are hanging. A cricket tent with flag flying to background with floral decorative border and to lower border on raised bar the inscription 'The Aboriginals'. Beaded outer border decoration.The oblong belt buckle measures approximately 3"x2.25" To verso on the small belt clasp is a symbol which presumably the makers mark and bordering the marks it appears to read 'Registered Nov 28th 1866 (1868?) S& W'. Either 1866 or 1868, it is very difficult to read. The buckle was found in the back garden of the vendors 1800's built cottage in Warminster, Wiltshire, the old A36 used to run in front of the house and in the 1940s/50s the road was moved forward so now the old road is for access only, they found the buckle on the inside border of the garden, behind our back garden is fields and is close to the road. The buckle in very good condition considering its history. A rare item from this very early tour by the Aboriginal team. cricket Estimate: £600/900 Hammer price: £3200 The first Australian cricket team to tour England were the Aboriginal team of 1868, comprising entirely of Aborigines they first toured Australia and culinated in Sydney before boarding the ship Paramatta on the 8th February 1868 and saling for England arriving at Gravesend on the 13th May 1868. Whilst in England they played forty seven matches in twenty two weeks winning fourteen, drawing eighteen and losing fifteen of the matches played. Apart from playing the cricket matches they gave exhibitions of spear and boomerang throwing and other sports. Their matches proved very popular, with 5,000 spectators attending the more important matches. According to Haygarth it was a very lucrative speculation. A similar belt buckle, of the same size was sold by Noble of Australia in 1995, this buckle had been found in 1951 on a rabbit shooting expedition near Kitticola gold mine, 55km north east of Adelaide. It sold for 2000 Australian dollars