Button
19th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Lapland and Iceland are the most remote areas of north-west Europe. Their traditional jewellery retains many medieval characteristics lost elsewhere.
Women in Iceland wore large buttons, typically in sets of three, to hold their decorative aprons in place at the waistband. These buttons are always hollow, and can be round, hemispherical, or drum-shaped. They often have a pendant leaf hanging from the front. This button may have started its life as a spherical button, as the flat back is rather crudely attached to the front.
Buttons were an important element of women’s traditional dress throughout the Nordic region. Leaf pendants are typical of both Icelandic and Sami (Lapp) dress, but Icelandic buttons usually have richer decoration, often of filigree, as here. The Icelandic name viravirkis-knappr means a filigree button. The pattern of rings within circles on this button is common in Iceland, but is also found on Sami and Russian buttons.
Women in Iceland wore large buttons, typically in sets of three, to hold their decorative aprons in place at the waistband. These buttons are always hollow, and can be round, hemispherical, or drum-shaped. They often have a pendant leaf hanging from the front. This button may have started its life as a spherical button, as the flat back is rather crudely attached to the front.
Buttons were an important element of women’s traditional dress throughout the Nordic region. Leaf pendants are typical of both Icelandic and Sami (Lapp) dress, but Icelandic buttons usually have richer decoration, often of filigree, as here. The Icelandic name viravirkis-knappr means a filigree button. The pattern of rings within circles on this button is common in Iceland, but is also found on Sami and Russian buttons.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver-gilt filigree |
| Brief description | Dome-shaped silver-gilt button (viravirkis-knappr) with filigree decoration and pendant leaf, Iceland, 19th century. |
| Physical description | Dome-shaped button with hemispherical front and flat back, decorated on the front with rings of applied wire and granules, with pierced centres. Leaf-shaped pendant hanging from the centre. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production | Worn by women |
| Summary | Lapland and Iceland are the most remote areas of north-west Europe. Their traditional jewellery retains many medieval characteristics lost elsewhere. Women in Iceland wore large buttons, typically in sets of three, to hold their decorative aprons in place at the waistband. These buttons are always hollow, and can be round, hemispherical, or drum-shaped. They often have a pendant leaf hanging from the front. This button may have started its life as a spherical button, as the flat back is rather crudely attached to the front. Buttons were an important element of women’s traditional dress throughout the Nordic region. Leaf pendants are typical of both Icelandic and Sami (Lapp) dress, but Icelandic buttons usually have richer decoration, often of filigree, as here. The Icelandic name viravirkis-knappr means a filigree button. The pattern of rings within circles on this button is common in Iceland, but is also found on Sami and Russian buttons. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 359-1870 |
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| Record created | June 8, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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