At first glance, the object, left, might appear to be an exotic piece of modern art, destined to dominate a large gallery wall. But the enlargement is deceiving. In fact, it's an 18th c. button, about an inch in diameter, and 250 years ago it (and twenty or so twins) likely decorated the front of a costly English or French gentleman's coat.
This button is an extreme example of a wrapped button (click on the image to enlarge for detail.) Sometimes called Leek buttons or death head buttons, wrapped buttons like this one are small masterpieces of patience, precision, and geometry.
Many wrapped buttons were made as a cottage-industry, both in rural areas and in cities, and others could be made by tailors. A button like this one, however, was most likely made by a specialist craftsman. In our mass-produced modern world, it's hard to imagine devoting each work day to such painstaking – and beautiful – creation.
See here for another example of a beautiful 18th c. button.
This button was spotted on eBay by historical seamstress, scholar, and re-enactor Hallie Larkin. We're grateful to her for posting photographs of the button first on her blog – one of our favorites!
One of us -- 
9 comments:
I saw this amongst your Breakfast Links and was amazed at once by the beauty and the craftsmanship.
My daughter makes temari balls - a Japanese art, and the detailing is similar although usually not on so small a scale.
Gorgeous piece! Any idea how long it might have taken to produce one of these buttons? I know people still make deaths head buttons, although they are of a simpler pattern.
Ana, you're right - the button was in the Breakfast LInks a week or so ago, but I felt it deserved a blog post, too. :)
Elli, the wrapping is similar to temari balls. I'm also reminded of Mexican Ojo de Dios, which also rely on elaborate wrapping patterns:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God's_eye
Chris, I have no idea how long it would have taken to make one of these. Practice does increase speed, but I have to think a button like this wouldn't have been easy, even for a practiced craftsman. But as I always have to remember, in the 18th c. time was cheap: it was the material, not the man/woman hours that set the price of an object....
Beautiful button! I remember my paternal grandmother wearing buttons like that. She used to cut them off her cast offs and reuse them. I wish I knew what happened to my mother's button jar because there were at least a dozen in there, some from when my grandmother was a small girl in the mid 1800's. I have no idea if they'd been passed down to her from someone else.
Do you know where I can get button blanks to make my own covered buttons? I have a book that tells how to cover them.
Burnleigh & Trowbridge has historically accurate button moulds in wood, bone, or horn:
http://www.burnleyandtrowbridge.com/buttonmoulds.aspx
Good luck wrapping! :)
Lovely image of the button! I took it and it is copyrighted, as clearly indicated where it was published. Usually, it is courteous to ask permission before taking another person's artwork. Robin Larner
Robin,
I would have replied to you directly, but you left no email address.
As a writer whose own work has been "borrowed," I have great respect for copyright and creative & intellectual property. If you're a reader of this blog, you'll know that I always try to give credit to images, both to the original artist and the photographer as well as to the present owner of the work. In this case, the image came by way ebay, from a sale that is long over and vanished from the site. If your copyright notice was on the image, it had by then been cropped off, or I would have given you full credit.
I realize it's two years after the fact - but if you wish I can credit you now, including a link to your site as a photograher, or I will take down the post in its entirety. Your call; just let me know.
I apologize for the frustration & irritation my post has inadvertently caused you. It's a wonderful image of a wonderful button, and you deserve recognition.
Isabella/Susan
Post a Comment