Button thumbnail 1
Button thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Button

1903-1906 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Established in 1875, Liberty's department store in London built its reputation on supplying artistic and unusual products. In 1899 it launched a line of 'Cymric' jewellery, which drew both the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts styles. Cymric jewellery featured sinuous lines, unusual gemstones and often appeared to be hand-beaten. However, it was commercially produced using machine processes - something which enraged Arts and Crafts jewellers like C.R. Ashbee.

Almost all of the Cymric jewellery range was manufactured by W.H. Haseler of Birmingham. The firm employed around 200 people working in a ‘factory system’ based on production lines and machine tools. As a result, jewellery could be produced relatively cheaply; one of these buttons would have cost in the region of five shillings.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 6 parts.

  • Button
  • Button
  • Button
  • Button
  • Button
  • Button
Materials and techniques
Enamelled silver
Brief description
Set of silver buttons, enamelled with woodland scenes, made by Haseler & Co. for Liberty & Co., Birmingham, 1903-06
Physical description
Set of silver buttons, enamelled with scenes of trees
Dimensions
  • Depth: 1.1cm
  • Diameter: 3cm
Style
Subject depicted
Summary
Established in 1875, Liberty's department store in London built its reputation on supplying artistic and unusual products. In 1899 it launched a line of 'Cymric' jewellery, which drew both the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts styles. Cymric jewellery featured sinuous lines, unusual gemstones and often appeared to be hand-beaten. However, it was commercially produced using machine processes - something which enraged Arts and Crafts jewellers like C.R. Ashbee.

Almost all of the Cymric jewellery range was manufactured by W.H. Haseler of Birmingham. The firm employed around 200 people working in a ‘factory system’ based on production lines and machine tools. As a result, jewellery could be produced relatively cheaply; one of these buttons would have cost in the region of five shillings.
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.287A to E-1961

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Record createdJanuary 10, 2008
Record URL
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