Button
ca. 1850 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Silver buttons were an important element of traditional dress in Spain. Unlike in most other European countries, women were just as likely to wear them as men. Both sexes wore them in extravagant quantities, along the seams of jackets and trousers and in bunches at the wrist, as well as to fasten clothes. Although filigree buttons were the most typical, many regions used buttons made of sheet metal as well.
They were rarely sewn directly on to the clothing. In some places people fastened them to their costume with a strip of leather, which ran through the button loops inside the garment. More commonly they used T-shaped toggles permanently attached to the button.
The shape of these buttons is unusual, but Spanish toggle buttons were made in a great variety of patterns.
They were rarely sewn directly on to the clothing. In some places people fastened them to their costume with a strip of leather, which ran through the button loops inside the garment. More commonly they used T-shaped toggles permanently attached to the button.
The shape of these buttons is unusual, but Spanish toggle buttons were made in a great variety of patterns.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Silver |
| Brief description | Pair of silver toggle buttons shaped like melons, Cordoba (Spain), c. 1850. |
| Physical description | Pair of double toggle buttons, each consisting of a hollow spherical button with vertical ridges, and a matching hemispherical button with flat back, each attached by an oval link to a common bar. |
| Dimensions |
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| Summary | Silver buttons were an important element of traditional dress in Spain. Unlike in most other European countries, women were just as likely to wear them as men. Both sexes wore them in extravagant quantities, along the seams of jackets and trousers and in bunches at the wrist, as well as to fasten clothes. Although filigree buttons were the most typical, many regions used buttons made of sheet metal as well. They were rarely sewn directly on to the clothing. In some places people fastened them to their costume with a strip of leather, which ran through the button loops inside the garment. More commonly they used T-shaped toggles permanently attached to the button. The shape of these buttons is unusual, but Spanish toggle buttons were made in a great variety of patterns. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1173&A-1871 |
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| Record created | March 14, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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