Leonine Necklace - Once Upon a Button Limited Edition
Regular price $150.00Those born in the late summer will have a particular affinity for this necklace. However, you don’t have to be a Leo to relish its three gorgeous antique Victorian-era lion buttons.
Victorian women treasured picture buttons that depicted wild animals, with lions being a fan favorite. These buttons reflected a Victorian preoccupation with natural history, especially the then exotic animals of the African continent.
Our Leonine necklace features many stunning components united in a striking and unique piece. The three picture buttons are suspended from largest to smallest.
The first and most prominent button is a one-piece brass button depicting a lion. Under it hangs a two-piece brass button also picturing a lion. A Paris back brass button showing a lioness’s head completes the trio and anchors the necklace.
Paris back is a term collectors use to describe two-part brass buttons with the word Paris and the manufacturer's name stamped on the back.
Picture buttons were used as both fasteners and purely decorative clothing elements. Sometimes the larger buttons were sewn into dress panels or used to fasten coats. Other times matching pairs were converted into clasps to fasten a belt or the neck of a jacket.
Read more: Once Upon a Time - Victorian-Era Picture Buttons, Buttonology Blog.
In this piece from the top:
- One-piece brass picture button depicting a lion, circa 1880-1890
- Two-piece brass picture button depicting a lion, circa 1880-1990
- Small Paris back brass button depicting a lioness’s head, back marked T.W.&W. Paris Brevete, circa 1880-1890
- Two vintage Czech glass faceted stones in amber and white stripes, circa 1950-1960
- Four brass-plated pewter settings made today in the USA
- Mother-of-pearl and Czech glass beads
- Ornate brass filigree setting stamped today in the USA in vintage dies
- Six brass filigree connectors stamped today in the USA in vintage dies
- Two styles of brass chain
- Length is 30” with a 4” extender
Shop Collection: Limited Edition
