Button Jar

Description

“Memory” folk art jar encrusted with hundreds of extraordinary pressed-glass Victorian buttons of all sizes, many with luminescent finishes in lurid colors. A jarring contrast between the raw and refined, the vessel is a mesmerizing pileup of sparkling pattern and rough texture.

Originating in West and Central African burial practices, “Memoryware” is an American folk art with roots in the craft traditions enslaved Africans brought with them to the United States. As with so many American artistic genres, the creative influence of African-American communities shaped the national culture writ large and the “memory jug” became a folk art craft pursued around the country. Usually dating from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, the memory object brought together bits and pieces meaningful to their makers, with some examples created to memorialize the dead.

Condition

Very good.

Measurements

6.5 x 6.5 x 6.5 inches.

Shipping

Free in the continental United States. If an international buyer, please contact me for a shipping estimate by clicking here.