Emilie Lambert, TRC intern, Leiden University (Archaeology), 15 October 2024
This summer, the TRC received a bag filled with some 60 or so odd metal buttons. With no clear time or place of origin they are items without a story...or are they? As an archaeology student who is used to having to read between the lines and fill contextual gaps, I was determined to retrieve as much information as I could.
These buttons can now be found in the TRC online catalogue, and within that, in the reference collection on fastenings. Even without the garments they were worn with, the type, shape, material and decoration of fastenings are a valuable component of dress and identity.
A metal button made of a thin, flat sheet with a domed centre and border decoration, with a small cone shank. The Netherlands, 19th century (TRC 2024.2592).
Side view showing the shank (TRC 2024.2592).
As they were being catalogued, I noticed there are many different shank attachment types. A quick literature review reveals many of these styles were first used in the 19th century. TRC 2024.2592 is an example of a flat sheet button with a small cone shank. Others, particularly those with a key (or U-cast) shank (TRC 2024.2589), are not known before the 20th century.
A metal button with a smooth front, curved at the edges, and an off-centre key shank. The Netherlands, 20th century (TRC 2024.2589).
A metal spherical button with a round shank. The Netherlands, 19th century (TRC 2024.2598).
The buttons are heavily corroded, and so different from one another that it proved difficult to further categorize them. Which is a shame, since fastenings have many shapes and purposes within a single time period. Think of spherical buttons for shoes, domed buttons for cuffs and flat buttons for shirts, etc.
Wooden button with a metal, pinhead shank. The Netherlands, 19th century (TRC 2024.2616).To take it a step further, I took a sample of different buttons to the Faculty of Archaeology’s experimental lab, where I used the p-XRF (portable X-ray fluorescence machine), to identify the metals.
This device is totally non-destructive, and by sending radioactive signals through an object, it can (within 15 seconds!) give precise ratios of its elemental components.
In this case, I found most of the sampled buttons to be copper alloys, and some to be mainly tin. However, the proportions and types of ‘filler’ metals (zinc, lead, iron) varied greatly.
With this information, and some research into the production phases in different regions, I hope to pinpoint a more precise time and place, because the ‘recipes’ for such items change over time, as certain materials get cheaper to manufacture, or fashions change.
A domed metal clasp-button with two layers of dark fabric still present between the button and fastening. The Netherlands, 19th century (TRC 2024.2771).It is furthermore important with a collection such as this one to see each button individually, as we do not know their context.
While many do resemble each other, and their condition is not optimal, there are certainly a number of unique pieces. There is a lovely wooden button with a pinhead shank (TRC 2024.2616).
There are two sew-through buttons (such as TRC 2024.2674), and other styles such as a clasp button, which still has two thin layers of fabric stuck in it (TRC 2024.2771).
I hope soon to gather more information about these 'simple' buttons.
A metal flat sheet button wit two holes. The Netherlands, 20th century (TRC 2024.2674).
