Category: BONE

Here are two modern realistic carved bone buttons which I think come from Nepal. One is a bird and the other an elephant which are quite naively done and that adds to their charm.

This triangular shaped button is of bone (probably cattle) and has been dyed a brown colour.  A rather crude design has been carved into it.  I would suggest that it is modern and comes from Nepal.

There are two groups of buttons here made from bone.

They all have some carving on them and have been dyed which shows up the design.  There are also a few different shapes.  They were made in Nepal and are modern.

These buttons are modern and they have a certain charm about them.  They have all been carved and are realistic shapes.  I think they may come from Nepal or somewhere in that area.  They may not be very practical but are nice to look at.

Bone has been used to make buttons for a few centuries and is still being used today.

Moulds were used to wind thread or braid around in a decorative way to form a button.  Rings were also used for the same purpose (especially Dorset buttons)  I think it was very time consuming.  My first picture shows wooden button moulds as well as some bone rings.

The second picture has a group of utility bone buttons, while the third one is of underwear buttons.  Note the large holes enabling narrow tape to be threaded through which was then sewn onto the garment so the size could be adjusted around the waist.  We use elastic these days.