Silver filigree toggle button
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1850-1899
This object is a silver toggle button, possibly silver-plated, crafted using filigree techniques. Originating from Dalmatia between 1850 and 1899 by an unknown maker, it measures 4.5 cm in length.
The button comprises an open filigree sphere fitted with a crossover bar and an oval connecting link that is squeezed in the centre. A strip of wire encircles the button's middle, bordered on the exterior by a braided cord. Its surface is embellished with applied discs and rounded granules, and it terminates in a prominent, flat, facetted dome knop.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
During the nineteenth century, men across Europe wore silver buttons with traditional regional costume as a permitted display of personal wealth and status. In the Balkans, buttons fastened waistcoats or jackets for both men and women. While metal thread predominated under Ottoman tradition, silver filigree buttons were common along the western Adriatic coast of Dalmatia, Albania, and northern Greece. These examples, notable for their toggle fittings and facetted knops, were acquired in Dalmatia in the early twentieth century, where they were recorded as elements of peasant dress.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Silver filigree
- Dimensions
- Length: 4.5 cm
Technical characteristics
- Maker recorded
- Unknown
- Place recorded
- Dalmatia
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Buttons
- Museum object number
- CIRC.23&A-1951
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.