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Object Timeline

1938

  • We acquired this object.

2015

2019

2024

  • You found it!

Buttons (USA)

This is a buttons. It is dated 19th century and we acquired it in 1938. Its medium is cut and drilled horn. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.


Horn buttons include both highly decorative forms and plain examples such as these. Simple buttons were created by cutting the tips of horns which were then carved, sliced, turned and polished. The results of this process are opaque discs with a concentric grain.

This object was donated by Mrs. Norvin Hewitt Green and Norvin Hewitt Green. It is credited Gift of Norvin Hewitt Green.

Its dimensions are

H x diam.: (each) 0.3 × 3 cm (1/8 × 1 3/16 in.)

Cite this object as

Buttons (USA); cut and drilled horn; H x diam.: (each) 0.3 × 3 cm (1/8 × 1 3/16 in.); Gift of Norvin Hewitt Green; 1938-58-1293-a,b

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Plastics.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18351919/ |title=Buttons (USA) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=18 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>