Silver-alloy plated copper alloy button face with stamped floral and geometric design.

Notes

This is the metal face, or front portion, of a two piece button. In this style of button, a disk of lathed bone with a beveled edge often served as a button back. The face of the button was commonly fashioned from a sheet of thin metal, usually a variety of copper alloy, which would be crimped onto the back along the beveled edge of the bone back. This fragment demonstrates the way the metal button face was crimped over backings, as the crimped fold of metal is intact along the edge of the artifact.

These copper alloy faced buttons were often embellished with various forms of decoration, among them plating and impressed designs. The Sheffield plating technique, developed in 1742, fused thin layers of silver or tin to copper sheets, but only on the surface that will eventually be the button exterior. Intricate designs were achieved by hammering the covers into engraved molds which bore design elements prior to affixing portions the button together. This face displays a fine design containing floral and geometric elements.

In the eighteenth century, buttons came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Sometimes this variation can be used to identify which articles of clothing a button may have been used in the past. The diameter of this button suggests it was possibly for use on a coat or waistcoat.

Object Type

Buttons

Has it Been Conserved?

Yes

Where Was It Found?

Project Site: House for Families    [more details]