Buttons
In ancient Rome and Greece, clothing was fastened not only with fibulae but also with buttons. This small everyday object appeared in the dress of different social groups: soldiers could secure the edges of a paenula, while women's tunics and chitons could be buttoned at the shoulders and along the upper arm to create a sleeve-like line.
Fragment of a legionnaire's tombstone in a button-down penule. Found in the vicinity of London. 1-2 century AD
A woman in a buttoned tunic. Herculaneum. 79 A.D.
Statue of Vibia Sabina in a tunic with buttons. Paris,Louvre Museum. Inv. No. MR 316. 2nd century ADArchaeological finds confirm the use of buttons in antiquity. Surviving examples are most often made of copper alloys, while wooden, bone, and leather elements preserve worse and are therefore less visible in excavated material. A button could function both as a fastener and as a decorative part of dress.
Bronze buttons from Pompeii. 1st century AD
Form and Materials
Ancient buttons could be flat, domed, or mushroom-shaped, and their method of attachment depended on material and use. Metal examples often had an eyelet, loop, or shank on the reverse. For reconstruction, diameter, height, profile, and traces of attachment are important because these features help distinguish a working fastener from a decorative mount.
Use in Clothing
In ancient dress, the button did not replace the fibula, lacing, or ties, but complemented them. It was useful where two edges of textile or leather had to be joined quickly without a large brooch: on cloaks, light overgarments, footwear details, and auxiliary straps. In military reconstruction, such elements are especially appropriate on outer garments and field equipment where the fastener must be small and durable.
Reconstruction
When making a replica, it is better to follow a specific find: reproduce the alloy or a visually close material, thickness, attachment type, and tooling marks. Oversized decorative buttons can easily change the silhouette of a costume, so everyday and field garments usually call for restrained dimensions and simple finish. For museum or club reconstruction, the prototype source should be recorded together with the finished object.
Literature
- A. T. Croom, Roman Clothing and Fashion.
- M. C. Bishop, J. C. N. Coulston, Roman Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome.
- J. P. Wild, Textile Manufacture in the Northern Roman Provinces.
Related topics
Women in Ancient Rome,Paenula,Tunic,Fibula
Buttons. Vindonissa Museum. Switzerland. 1st century AD
A button with a thin triangular protrusion. The front side of the disk is decorated with an enamel pattern. Chester. England. 2nd century AD
Bronze button from Pompeii. 1st century AD
Bronze buttons. Found in Egypt. 1-2 century AD
Bronze buttons. Found in Egypt. 1-2 century AD
Bronze buttons. Found in Egypt. 1-2 century AD
Roman button with enamel. Metropolitan Museum of Art,New York. 2nd-4th century AD
Bronze button. Private collection. 1st century BC
Bronze button. Private collection. 1st century BC
Bronze button. Private collection. 1st century BC
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