Rivet strap with 22 petal bells

The owners asked me to clean and polish their set of petal bells and put them back on a new strap similar in design to the original. The 22 bells date to the late 1800s or early 1900s and range from #3 bells (1 3/8" across) at the ends to slightly oversized #12 bells (2 5/8") in the middle.

The old strap had been assembled using rivets to fasten everything in place, including the buckle. Both tubular and belt rivets were often used on sleigh bell straps in the late 1800s. I honored that choice, using solid brass tubular rivets between the bells and small copper "belt" rivets to fasten the buckle and liner at each end of the strap. I darkened the heads of the rivets to blend with the medium brown leather.

The strap is about 83 inches long and 1 1/4 inches wide. The original buckle was installed on the new strap.

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.