Button with Choice of Hercules

"Button with Choice of Hercules" is an English decorative button dating to the late 18th century. It was produced in Burslem, England, by the Wedgwood Manufactory, an enterprise founded in 1759. The object measures 0.9 by 3.4 cm (3/8 by 1 3/8 in.) and features a circular stoneware medallion executed in jasperware, fitted into a rounded metal border.

The central jasperware insert displays a vibrant blue ground adorned with white relief figures representing the mythological subject of the Choice of Hercules. In the composition, a central standing figure rests upon a club, flanked on either side by two companions: one standing draped figure gesturing toward the left, and a second figure reclining on a mound beside a tree to the right. The jasperware plaque is enclosed within an ornamental circular mount edged with a row of faceted, bead-like metallic studs, bordered along the outer rim by a delicate crimped rim.