Button thumbnail 1
Button thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91 to 93 mezzanine, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Button

1800-1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Silver buttons were an important element of traditional dress throughout Europe in the 19th century. Most were worn by men, but in a few places women also wore them. Women's buttons tend to be larger and more decorative than those worn by men. They were mainly worn along the sleeves of the outer jacket, from the cuff to the elbow.

Spherical buttons are the oldest type in Europe, and the pattern of buttons like these, with applied filigree decoration, probably dates back to the Middle Ages. By the 19th century this design survived only in the extreme north, in Scandinavia and Russia. This button, however, comes from Bara district in Skåne, in the south of Sweden, where it was worn by women on their sleeves.

It has the maker’s mark NR. There are two traditional silversmiths from Skåne who could have made them: Niklas Ramberg of Lund, active 1803-47; and Nils Ramberg of Simrishamn, active 1822-59.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver-gilt with applied filigree wire rings and granules
Brief description
Spherical silver-gilt button with applied filigree decoration, Skåne (Sweden), 19th century.
Physical description
Spherical button of sheet silver, decorated all over with circles of twisted wire enclosing three smaller rings, with granules in the centres of the circles, and between them. Loop shank.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 3.5cm
  • Length: 4.4cm
Marks and inscriptions
'NR' in rectangular frame (Mark of Niklas Ramberg (Lund) or Nils Ramberg (Simrishamn), twice on back.)
Historical context
Worn by women.
Summary
Silver buttons were an important element of traditional dress throughout Europe in the 19th century. Most were worn by men, but in a few places women also wore them. Women's buttons tend to be larger and more decorative than those worn by men. They were mainly worn along the sleeves of the outer jacket, from the cuff to the elbow.

Spherical buttons are the oldest type in Europe, and the pattern of buttons like these, with applied filigree decoration, probably dates back to the Middle Ages. By the 19th century this design survived only in the extreme north, in Scandinavia and Russia. This button, however, comes from Bara district in Skåne, in the south of Sweden, where it was worn by women on their sleeves.

It has the maker’s mark NR. There are two traditional silversmiths from Skåne who could have made them: Niklas Ramberg of Lund, active 1803-47; and Nils Ramberg of Simrishamn, active 1822-59.
Collection
Accession number
464-1886

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Record createdMarch 14, 2008
Record URL
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