Gilt waist coat button with basketweave design and a bone back

Notes

This a two piece button with gilt and basketweave decoration. In this style of button, a disk of lathed bone with a beveled edge often served as a button back. In the earliest examples of this style from the mid-eighteenth century such as this example, four eye holes were drilled into the bone back, through which cat gut was strung to form a shank to attach the button to clothing. The face of the button was 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.

These copper alloy faced buttons were often embellished with various forms of decoration, among them gilding and impressed designs. Intricate designs were achieved by hammering the covers into engraved molds which bore design elements prior to affixing them to the button back. This face displays a fine design arranged in a basketweave pattern comprised of raised hobnails and linear cordage and beaded 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 indicates it was 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]