Button
19th century
Classification
costume & accessories
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt
Accession Number
1931-59-741-a
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
This unassuming 19th-century, part of the Smithsonian American Art's costume and accessories collection, offers a glimpse into everyday life and fashion from a transformative era. Though its artist and exact medium remain unknown—reflecting ongoing research—it exemplifies the small, functional objects that adorned clothing, signaling personal style, social status, and craftsmanship during the Industrial Revolution. In the 1800s, buttons evolved from simple fasteners to decorative elements, often mass-produced with innovations in materials like metal, glass, or shell, making fashion more acces...
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...