Tapered, laced strap with 9 bells

This unique bell strap holds nine bells ranging from #3 (1 3/8") bells at the ends to a grand #14 bell (almost 3" across) in the middle. Most of the bells were made by William Barton and all date to the early 1800s. The bells were cleaned, polished, and lacquered.

The dark brown bell strap and lining strap are laced together to form a single unit. What is unusual about this piece is the wider lining strap tapers from a sturdy 2" wide under the big center bell to a more delicate 1 1/2" wide at both ends.

The finished piece is about 30" long from buckle to buckle, and is sized to be a neck strap for a cob or standard-sized horse. One buckle from the owner's original strap was reused on the new strap. The other buckle was missing, so I substituted a similar old buckle harvested from another strap. A separate billet (plain strap with holes for the buckles) fastens onto the bell strap to complete the piece.

This particular item is a custom, one-of-a-kind project made for a past client. Items in this Custom Projects section are for information only; they are not available for regular sale.