J.H. Ogborne, Curator of Collections, Historic St. Mary’s City

Janene Johnston, Associate Curator, Jamestown Rediscovery

Recent excavations at the St. Mary’s Fort (1634-c.1642) at Historic St. Mary’s City in Maryland yielded multiple fragments of metallic thread and a woven metallic thread button. These objects originated from an early to mid-17th-century midden located within the fort’s boundaries.

This little button consists of a wooden bead core surrounded by a plain-woven collection of threads embellished with an as-yet unidentified metal. Each strand consists of thin filaments twisted into a yarn-like thread wrapped by a flattened strip of metal. Six of these composite strands were batched and woven around the bead.

Small round buttons were used in various styles of European clothing for several centuries before this particular button arrived in Maryland in the 17th century. They were used to fasten men’s and women’s garments such as doublets or waistcoats.¹ Elaborate (and expensive) varieties, like this one, were made of fibers intricately woven around a wooden core in various patterns.

During the 17th century, metallic thread consisted of precious metals or copper alloys drawn into fine wire or hammered thin sheets.² Further intricacy was achieved by coiling wires into tiny spring-like threads (called purl) or wrapping the flattened sheets around organic fibers (sometimes referred to as filé).³ Gilding and silvering copper alloys were cost-effective methods for achieving conspicuous shine.⁴ Threads were affixed to textiles using a variety of techniques such as couching or directly passing through garment textiles, even to line buttonholes.⁵

Nine very similar thread-wrapped buttons have been recovered from Jamestown, established in 1607, predating the St. Mary’s fort by only about 30 years. Of these, seven were recovered from early James Fort period contexts (ca. 1607-1624). Though none appear to have the same cross-hatched pattern as the St. Mary’s button, many of the threads appear to be wrapped in silver foil. Most of the Jamestown buttons are also similar in the fact that they are small, round buttons with various patterns of threads woven around a wooden core.

Additionally, Jamestown’s collection includes three buttons that appear to be variant forms – one that is elongated vertically and simply wrapped around the core, one that is biconvex with a herringbone weave pattern, and one particularly nice example of a domed button. The domed button is wrapped sparingly with braided silver threads allowing the wooden core to show through. Close examination reveals the presence of smaller purl threads that either alternate with the larger plaits or perhaps formed a layer under the silver plaits. Evidenced by the excessive amount of space between the core and threads, it is likely that the button also included a silk fabric that has since disintegrated.

The presence of these metallic buttons at both 17th-century English forts attests to individuals aspiring to show off their wealth and social status to others around them. With excavations still ongoing at the St. Mary’s Fort midden, additional materials may provide further insight into potential garments, accessories, or even more threads, that will contribute to our understanding of the significance of status and the wealth of various individuals present in early 17th century Maryland.

---

¹ North, Susan, Jenny Tiramani, Melanie Braun, Luca Costigliolo, and Claire Thorton. 17th-Century Men’s Dress Patterns. Thames & Hudson: London, 2016.

² Járó, Márta. “Gold Embroidery and Fabrics in Europe: XI – XIV centuries.” Gold Bulletin 23 (1990): 40-57.; Karatzani, Anna. “Metal threads: the historical development.” (2014).

³ Karatzani 2014; Carr, Cristina Balloffet. “The Materials and Techniques of English Embroidery of the Late Tudor and Stuart Eras.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mtee/hd_mtee.htm (June 2010).

⁴ Járó, Márta and Attila Tóth. “Scientific identification of European metal thread manufacturing techniques of the 17–19th centuries.” Endeavour 15 (1991): 175-184.

⁵ Rivers Cofield, Sara. “Colonial Metallic Trimmings.” Piecework (Fall 2023):6-10.