Sleeve Buttons

DateMid-18th c.

Artist/Maker James T. Butler III (1713 - 1736)

MediumGold

DimensionsDiam. 1/2".

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1952-289,1

DescriptionButton. Octagonal; incised scroll pattern suggesting fleur-de-lis.
Label TextWomen sometimes wore sleeve buttons to fasten their shift sleeves. Notice the portrait of Deborah Glen, who holds up her right arm to show her fine lace-edged shift with two buttonholes in the cuff for removable sleeve buttons, linked together.
Markings"IB" in relief within a rectangle: possibly for James Butler (1713-1736), who worked in Boston with exception of a brief sojurn in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1750.
ProvenanceEx collection John Marshall Phillips, Yale University Gallery of Art.
Vendor: Yale University Art Gallery

Exhibition(s)