Shoe Buckle

Maker: Myer Myers (American, 1723–1795)

1768–70

American Decorative Arts

On view, 1st floor, American Decorative Arts before 1900

The inscription on these buckles indicates that they were a gift from Robert Arcedeckne (died 1768) to Daniel McCormick (1742–1834). Arcedeckne was a member of an Irish family from County Galway that had settled in Saint Catherine, Jamaica, in the 1710s. McCormick, who became a prominent New York attorney, was born in Ireland and many of his business relationships were with fellow Irishmen. It is possible that McCormick received his gift from Arcedeckne, another Irishman, in gratitude for legal assistance. According to an early nineteenth-century observer, McCormick was fond of opulent dress, and these elaborate and costly gold buckles confirm that account.

Medium

Gold and steel

Dimensions

1 3/4 × 2 3/8 × 3/4 in., 1 oz., 9 dwt. (4.4 × 6 × 1.9 cm, 45 gm)

Credit Line

Mabel Brady Garvan Collection

Accession Number

1936.166

Geography

Made in New York, New York

Culture

American

Period

18th century

Classification

Jewelry

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Daniel McCormick (c. 1750-c. 1820). Francis P. Garvan (1875-1937), New York, New York; gift 1936 to Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
Bibliography
  • American Art: Selections from the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2023), 62–63, no. 14, ill
  • David L. Barquist, Myer Myers: Jewish Silversmith in Colonial New York, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2001), 137–38, no. 51, ill
  • David B. Warren et al., Marks of Achievement: Four Centuries of American Presentation Silver, ed. Ellyn Childs Allison, exh. cat. (New York: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1987), 71, no. 47, fig. 79
  • Charles F. Montgomery and Patricia E. Kane, eds., American Art: 1750–1800 Towards Independence, exh. cat. (Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1976), 196–97, fig. 152
  • Kathryn C. Buhler and Graham Hood, American Silver in the Yale University Art Gallery, 2 vols. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1970), vol. 2, p. 100, no. 657, ill
  • Peter J. Bohan, "Early American Gold," Antiques 88 (December 1965), 814–15, fig. 7
  • Peter J. Bohan, American Gold, 1700–1860, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1963), 40, no. 83
  • Exhibition of Works in Silver and Gold by Myer Myers: A Checklist of Objects Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, exh. cat. (Brooklyn: Brooklyn Museum, 1954), no. 165
  • Jeanette W. Rosenbaum, Myer Myers, Goldsmith, 1723–1795 (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1954), 103, pl. 6, ill
  • V. Isabelle Miller, Silver by New York Makers, Late 17th Century to 1900, exh. cat. (New York: Museum of the City of New York, 1937), 22, no. 208
  • John Marshall Phillips, "Additions to the Garvan Collection of Silver," Bulletin of the Associates in Fine Arts at Yale University 8, no. 1 (June 1937), 17
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

shoe buckles

Marks

"MM" [Roman with conjoined serifs] in rectangle (on back of each end)

Inscriptions

"The Gift of Rob[t superscript]. Arcdeckne Esq[r superscript]. to Dan[l superscript]. M[c superscript] Cormick" engraved on back.

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

View IIIF manifest

The International Image Interoperability Framework, or IIIF, is an open standard for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. Visit iiif.io to learn more

Linked Art

API response for this object

Linked Art is a Community working together to create a shared Model based on Linked Open Data to describe Art.