peteyfrogboy

So I want to make a patterned belt for my 15c clothes, but I've never seen anything other than plain belts - usually narrow, though sometimes wide. Most of the time there's no fastening visible, but sometimes there is a bow or a buckle. Here's what I turned up in a quick survey today:

DOMENICO DI BARTOLO, Care of the Sick (detail), 1441-42
A black belt with what appears to be a metal buckle in front, on a worker.

DONATELLO, Allegoric Figure of a Boy (Atys), front view, 1430s
Looks like a leather belt, wide, with a buckle. It's being used to hold up somewhat out-of-fashion hose on a mythological figure, so not really much of a data point.

BARTOLOMEO DELLA GATTA, St Roch in front of the Fraternita dei Laici in Arezzo, 1479
Looks like a red sash tied in front.

BOTTICELLI, Sandro, Adoration of the Magi (detail), c. 1475
Sash tied in front.

BOTTICELLI, Sandro, The Mystical Nativity (detail), c. 1500
Barely 15c, and not much to look at belt-wise, but an actual belt pouch! Amazing

BOTTICELLI, Sandro, The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti (detail of the first episode), c. 1483
Narrow sash tied in front.

CRIVELLI, Carlo, St Roch, c. 1493
Narrow black belt with silver buckle and strap end, very long. Very late in the century, and St. Roch always seems to be dressed a little out of the ordinary to accommodatethe display of his plague spot. Still, a belt is a belt.

FRANCESCO DI GIORGIO MARTINI, Pope Pius II Names Cardinal His Nephew, 1460
On the far right, there's something going on on the belt of the man with his back to the viewer. Maybe a buckle? Not enough there to say.

GOZZOLI, Benozzo, Procession of the Middle King (detail), 1459-60
Jewelled belt on the king, studded belt on one of the soldiers behind him. This whole fresco is wildly fanciful, so I don't put too much stock in it.

GOZZOLI, Benozzo, The Dance of Salome, 1461-62
Again, on the far right, seen from the rear, something on the belt, but nothing I can clearly make out.

GOZZOLI, Benozzo, The School of Tagaste (scene 1, north wall), 1464-65
Finally, some decorated belts! The two older men, both with some sort of decoration (perhaps mounts?) on their belts. No buckles visible though.

MANTEGNA, Andrea, Suite of Cardinal Francesco (detail), 1471-74
Looks like a decorated belt, perhaps buckled, with a short end hanging down.

PERUGINO, Pietro, The Miracles of San Bernardino: The Healing of a Young Girl (detail), 1473
A very dangly sash tied in front. Also, a center seam on the yoke of the giornea, and a sash around the upper arm. Interesting.

PIERO della FRANCESCA, Adoration of the Holy Wood (detail), c. 1452
Okay, I knew I'd find something good from ol' PDF. Definitely a buckle in the front here.

POLLAIUOLO, Antonio del, Altarpiece of the Sts Vincent, James, and Eustace, 1468
St. Eustace has a very fancy belt, but he's a saint and also has a lot of other out-of-the-ordinary clothing features. Interesting, but not a whole lot of use.

UNKNOWN MASTER, Italian, Offering of the Keys, 1482
Just when I was giving up hope, i find a whole gang of contemporary men wearing belts with metal mounts on them. They're from Siena, even.

VERROCCHIO, Andrea del, Tobias and the Angel, 1470-80
And here I find what looks like a sash with a complicated woven pattern. Granted , this is a biblical character (if not a saint), so there's certainly a large block of salt that needs to be taken with this one. He also has snazzy lace-up boots.

VIVARINI, Antonio, Marriage of St Monica, 1441
This one is quite early, and it looks like the men on the right may have metal mounts on their belts. I wouldn't swear to it in court, though.

VIVARINI, Bartolomeo, St Roch and the Angel, 1480
Another St. Roch wearing a belt with mounts and a strap end.

So it looks like the vast majority of belts are undecorated and narrow. I'd wager they buckle or tie in back, but of course it's impossible to say. Some fasten in front, and some buckle and have metal mounts. It's possible that a patterned sash might work, but it's iffy. Overall, the belt doesn't seem to be a focus for fashion at this point.