Whether sewn safely onto a cloth coat or lost somewhere in a jewelry drawer, a simple decorative piece or the unassuming hero, a nostalgic relic or a piece of warped plastic – what a button lacks in size, it makes up for in rich history and personality.
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Believe it or not, these seemingly Lilliputian ornaments have played a significant role in the attestation of social status, were once banned from Churches, yet enforced onto the jacket sleeves of Prussian servants, and have even led to two full-fledged wars. Over time, buttons have become vehicles for beautification and artistic expression. They are fabricated from a wide range of materials, including traditional ivory, bone, wood and various metals, as well as ceramic, mother of pearl, tortoise shell and synthetic substances like celluloid, glass, Bakelite and plastic.
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Button collecting is an "act of passion, for some, almost an obsession". Curator Dr. Doron J. Lurie found beauty in this passionate obsession and translated it to a brilliant exhibition at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Gilding the Lily: Buttons and Other Ornaments brings tens of thousands of buttons from private collections together with the purpose of shining the much-deserved spotlight on their boundless beauty.
On display through June 10, 2017. Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 27 Shaul HaMelech Blvd (tamuseum.org.il)