From its earliest years, the 1850s, the V&A set out to acquire traditional (then called peasant) jewellery as an example for British craftsmen. This display was bought (for £1 8s 4d) in 1883 to show the different stages of construction for a German filigree button from the Altes Land. Filigree was not a traditional craft in Britain, although it was so common a technique in European traditional jewellery that it was considered synonymous with it. In particular, people from almost every region in Europe wore filigree buttons.
The buttons in this display come from the Altes Land, and would have been worn in a set of 12. They were worn by women, six on each cuff, and were the most expensive type of button.
Each button consists of 233 different elements. It starts with a framework of plain wire, made into two rosettes, for the front and back. These are then filled and decorated with twisted and coiled wire of various kinds, and 63 granules. The finished button is then cleaned and polished ready for wear.
Physical description
Collection of 21 groups of silver filigree elements showing the making of a filigree button.
[Filigree] Domed rosette (160n), decorated with coil rings, granules, circles of braided wire, and flat disks. This forms the front part of the button.
[Filigree] 45 coil rings in various sizes and states of construction, made from spiral wire (160l). The finished ones have a granule on top.
[Filigree] Length of braided wire, bound in a ring, formed by twisting together two or more lengths of twisted wire (160g). Used for making the circles of decorative wire (160o) used on the front of the button
[Filigree] 6 circles of braided wire (160p), used as decoration on the front of the button.
[Filigree] Domed rosette (160j) decorated with applied coil rings (160q) and circles of braided wire (160o).
[Filigree] Domed rosette, made by shaping the filled rosette frame of the back part (160i).
[Filigree] Length of coiled wire twisted in a spiral, made by wrapping spiral wire (160h) round a thick rod. When the rod is withdrawn, the wire forms a thick coil. This wire is used to make coil rings (160q).
[Filigree] Group of 30 kidney-shaped scrolls of twisted and flattened silver wire (160g), used to fill the rosette frame of the back part (160e). Four scrolls are used for each lobe of the rosette.
[Filigree] Domed rosette, made by shaping the rosette frame of the front part (160f).
[Filigree] Rosette of rectangular frame wire (160e), with infill of filigree scrolls (160k) made from twisted wire (160g) flattened by passing it between rollers. This is the back part of the finished button.
[Filigree] Length of spiral wire, made by wrapping very fine wire round a thin rod, and then withdrawing the rod. This spiral wire is soft and flexible.
[Filigree] Length of twisted wire, bound in a ring, made by twisting two strands of 160c wire together.
[Filigree] Rosette, made from the wire in 160b, which forms the frame of the front part.
[Filigree] Rosette, made from the wire in 160a, which forms the frame of the back part.
[Filigree] Length of wire of circular section, bound in a ring. Used for making decorative elements on the front of the button
[Filigree] Length of wire of circular section, bound in a ring. Used for making the internal motifs on the back part (160k).
[Filigree] 34 lengths of wire, of rectangular section, bound together in the shape of a pentagon. Used for making the frame of the front part (160f).
[Filigree] 12 lengths of silver wire, of rectangular section, bound together in a triangular shape. Used for making the frame of the back part (160e).
[Filigree] Three silver filigree buttons showing respectively their appearance when finished, cleaned, and burnished.
Place of Origin
Altes Land, Germany (made)
Date
ca. 1880 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Silver filigree
Dimensions
[Filigree] Diameter: 3.6 cm, Depth: 1.3 cm
[Filigree] Height: 4.3 cm, Width: 14.6 cm, Depth: 0.4 cm
[Filigree] Height: 6.0 cm, Width: 5.4 cm, Depth: 0.2 cm
[Filigree] Diameter: 2.3 cm, Depth: 0.3 cm
[Filigree] Diameter: 3.5 cm, Depth: 1.1 cm
[Filigree] Diameter: 3.3 cm, Depth: 1.3 cm
[Filigree] Height: 4.4 cm, Width: 3.7 cm, Depth: 0.6 cm
[Filigree] Height: 9.4 cm, Width: 10.3 cm, Depth: 0.1 cm
[Filigree] Diameter: 3.4 cm, Depth: 0.9 cm
[Filigree] Diameter: 4.5 cm, Depth: 0.1 cm
[Filigree] Height: 3.4 cm, Width: 3.1 cm, Depth: 0.2 cm
[Filigree] Height: 5.5 cm, Width: 5.8 cm, Depth: 0.2 cm
[Filigree] Diameter: 3.8 cm, Depth: 0.1 cm
[Filigree] Diameter: 4.7 cm, Depth: 0.1 cm
[Filigree] Diameter: 5.2 cm, Depth: 0.2 cm
[Filigree] Height: 5.2 cm, Width: 5.6 cm, Depth: 0.2 cm
[Filigree] Height: 5.2 cm, Width: 5.7 cm, Depth: 0.4 cm
[Filigree] Height: 4.6 cm, Width: 5.2 cm, Depth: 0.2 cm
[Filigree] Diameter: 3.5 - 3.7 cm, Depth: 2.9 - 3.7 cm
Descriptive line
Silver filigree elements illustrating the making of a button, Altes Land (North Germany), 19th century.
Production Note
Worn by women
Materials
Silver
Techniques
Filigree
Categories
Metalwork; Jewellery
Collection code
MET
