Suite of buttons
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1760-1790
This object is an unused suite of fifteen circular buttons mounted together on a piece of card or thick paper. The buttons' shanks are pricked through the backing sheet and secured on the reverse with a piece of string. The suite was most likely intended for use on a man's coat.
Each button measures approximately 2 cm in diameter and is made of metal, featuring cast silver rosettes set over pink foil. The openwork metal pattern presents a radiating rosette motif enclosed by a beaded circular border. The buttons were produced between 1760 and 1790, probably in France.
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
Buttons were an important form of embellishment during the eighteenth century, increasing in size, variety, and impact alongside changing French fashions. Luxurious examples crafted from precious metals, jewels, and ivory were worn predominantly by men. Buttons typically were produced in sets ranging from five to thirty-five. Because they were regularly detached when garments wore out to be reused, melted down, or divided in bequests, complete sets preserved intact on their original sale mounts are exceptionally uncommon.
Physical characteristics
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 2 cm
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- France,
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
- Suite of buttons
- Museum object number
- T.46-2021
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.