Button
1830–52
Classification
costume & accessories
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of the Misses Hewitt
Accession Number
1931-59-12-a/c
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
This unassuming yet evocative button, dating from 1830–52, offers a glimpse into everyday American life during the antebellum era. Produced in the midst of rapid industrialization and expanding fashion trends, such accessories were essential to garments, reflecting both functionality and subtle ornamentation. Classified within the Smithsonian American Art Museum costume and accessories collection, it embodies the material culture of a transformative period marked by Jacksonian democracy, westward expansion, and the early stirrings of the Civil War. Though the artist and medium remain unknown—...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...