Set of Ladies' Buttons
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1900
This set of circular ladies' buttons was manufactured in London in 1900 by William Comyns and Sons. Each button measures 2.8 centimetres in diameter and is made of silver plate. The buttons were produced using a combination of casting for the relief figures and manual piercing to remove the metal between the design elements. The reverse of each button features a ring stamped with the registration mark 'Rd No. 352928'.
The pierced and relief design depicts a classical draped figure seated facing right, handing a cup to a small, naked, winged child, thought to be Cupid, or identified in gallery records as Saint Cecilia with a harp. The central figures are framed within an ornate, scrolling Rococo-style border. The buttons are enclosed in a rectangular case covered in red leather, fitted with a push-button catch and lined inside with padded blue satin in the lid and purple velvet in the base.
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
Boxed sets of silver and silver-plated buttons were popular between 1890 and 1910, often given as gifts and worn to complement late nineteenth-century women's fashion. By 1880, the British button industry had expanded rapidly, utilising new industrial manufacturing processes alongside hand finishing to produce classical, Pre-Raphaelite, and Art Nouveau designs.
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
- Button
- Museum object number
- T.92 to G-1970
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.