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Bakelite for Buttons
Aritas: A Japanese Ceramic Art Form
Button Artist Diana McClure

Elsa Schiaparelli, the famous Italian fashion designer, used plastic buttons and trimmings in the late 30s. She is credited with instigating the buttonmania of that period. Bakelite replaced celluloid and casein as the preferred material for buttons. Schiaparelli loved circus imagery, so she created many "realistic" buttons -- such as clown heads, acrobats, and horses.

Fellow designers in Paris attempted to create similar realistics. The fashion trend spread like wild fire from 1933-1941. In addition to the realistics, buttons of the 30s were often large, with abstract architectural design. Many were created for use on heavy coats and suits. They often ranged in diameter from 2-3 inches and were shaped in spirals, circles, cylinders and pyrimids. Many times, colors were combined with contrasting colors, with wood, metal, eschutcheons, glass embellishments, and stones set into the colorful bakelite. Designs were often reminescent of machine parts or forms inspired by the machine age and the Art Deco period. Coco Chanel disigned real jewelry, but often made copies in plastic. Even Rene Lalique used plastics for some projects.

Inventive commercial manufacturers of buttons, broaches, bracelets often bought rods, tubes, and sheets of bakelite and let their creativity take over. Bakelite had many outstanding qualities, which led to its changeover from household and industrial products to decorative products. It was less than half of the weight of glass, not cold to the touch, hard, durable, moisture-resistant, non-flammable, odorless and tasteless, and came in many rich colors. It could be worked in many different ways: sawed, sliced, threaded, ground, drilled, sanded, carved, and polished as smooth as glass. Most cast phenolic production ceased after 1942. Bakelite is a thermoset -- it cannot be softened and returned to a moldable state. For the button collector, "bakelite" is the term used for thermosets, no matter what their brand name (Bakelite or Catalin). Celluloid and lucite are thermoplastics. They can be shaped and reshaped under heat and pressure. To test to see if a button is bakelite, a needle must be cherry hot and should be inserted close to the shaft to see if it gives off the identifying odor of formaldehyde. Using a candle or cigarette lighter will not make the needle hot enough. The needle will not penetrate a thermoset, buy it will produce a mark, so it is best to test it in an unobtrusive spot.

Aritas: A Japanese Ceramic Art Form...  by Stephanie Lane

In 1594 a community of Korean immigrants left Korea for Japan, accompanying Japanese troops returning to their homeland after Emperor Hideyoshi’s Korean expedition. Most of them had probably collaborated with the Japanese invaders to such an extent that the "evacuation" to Japan after the end of the campaign had no doubt been part of their original deal with the invaders. Many of them were experienced potters. In 1616, one of these potters by the name of Ri Samper discovered a porcelain clay in the Izumi-yama Mountains about 50 miles north of Artita, Japan, in the province of Hizen. This discovery would change forever the art of porcelain-making in Japan.

Before Ti’s discovery, a blue and white porcelain was being made by Gorodaryu Shonsui, who had visited China in the beginning of the 16th Century, and worked for five years in the Ching te Chen Factories. He, however, used materials he brought with him from Korea until they ran out. The clay discovered by Ri could be used with very little additional refining because it already contained a mix of kaolin and petuntse. Kaolin is a pure white clay that forms when the mineral feldspar breaks down and petuntse is a type of feldspar found, until then, only in China.

The type of clay is one thing that makes the difference between coarse earthenware and fine porcelain. Another difference is the heating process and duration of baking. When kaolin and petuntse is fired at temperatures of 2280 to 2640 degrees Fahrenheit, the petuntse melts and forms a non-porous, natural glass. The kaolin, which is highly resistant to heat, does not melt and therefore allows the item to hold it’s shape. The process is complete when the petuntse fuses itself to the kaolin.

Recent excavations in and around Arita have revealed that it took fifty or sixty years from Ri’s discovery for the formerly Korean potters to succeed in making a true porcelain. In many cases in was the 2nd generation which made any progress.

After Ri’s discovery of a suitable local clay for porcelain, the Arita area kilns turned from producing Korean type wares to finer types of porcelain.

Around the early part of the 17th century, the tiny southern island of Kyushi saw an emergence of exquisitely decorated overglazed, (that is, enameled) porcelains. A ceramic dealer named Tojima Tokuzaemon learned the process of overglazing enameling from a Chinese potter at Nagasaki. Tojima passed this secret on to a man named Sakaid Kakeimon, and, sometime around 1640, Kakeimon is supposed to have succeeded in firing porcelain with a very desirable red overglazing decoration. He rarely covered more than one third of the surface, however, so it would contrast to the cream-colored underglaze. This secret of the enameling spread and in time, other Arita-area potters were producing it, also. Kakeimon was about 50 years old when he discovered the process called "Imari" that made him famous. It took another ten years before he found the secret of applying the gold highlighting.

Imari is the generic term for the porcelain produced in several kilns of North Kyushu and includes Arita, Nabeshima, Okochi, Mikawaguchi, Hirado, and others. Imari has been the central port of export for more than 200 years. The secrets of processing fine porcelain were and still are highly guarded and passed down from generation to generation. In fact, in the late 1600s, Lord Nabeshima appointed an official to act as overseer of the quarry at Arita. A gate was set up and it was carefully guarded. No one was allowed in or out without a special pass. This practice continued for more than 200 years, until 1868, when it was abolished. Many stories are told of potters sacrificing wife and family to learn the formula of a colored glaze or some method of firing.

Kakiemon porcelain is of fine quality and expert craftsmanship. Some of the pieces have gold highlights, but he did not use as lavish a display of this as is used today. Signatures of Kakeimon and Imayemon are still used and can be found on some excellent wares. Syllables such as "ye" and "mon" form part of other Imari potters’ names. These syllables mean "Gate keeper" harking back to the early protection of the areas fine clay beds.

In 1869, the Arita kilns began the use of oxidized cobalt and the following year, Dr. G. Wagner, a German technical expert, came to Arita. His guidance brought a certain European approach to the production of porcelain. Modern equipment, coal-burning kilns, and plaster molds made the processes much easier for the potters.

In the middle of the 19th Century, Japan opened its doors and signed treaties of trade and commerce with the West. Porcelain items were made to meet the demands of European traders and the items were subsequently prohibited from sale within Japan due to copyright laws.

In the 1960s, fine porcelain buttons were brought to this country and called "Aritas." The backmarks found on these are "Japan," and the initials, "TK." Buttons can be found with one, both, or neither backmark. The seven Gods of Fortune are the most commonly found Aritas. They are found in the small and medium sized realistic heads, medium size squares or circles with gods’ heads on them, and the harder-to-find realistic set which is just barely a National Button Society large in measurement.

The realistic flowers and animals can be found in medium and large and many beautiful colors. The lily with six petals is found in white accented with green, pink or yellow. The coloring accent is placed so effectively, that at first glance, the lily appears to be entirely of one color.

The fish styles come in many different colors, the seahorses in green and brown, the horse and elephant have been found in green, tan, and pink, and the devil mask has been found in green as well as the traditional red. The turkey had been found in blue as well as the more desirable orange.

In addition to the flowers and leaves, other plant life includes grapes in purple or green, squash in green and read apples.

The conventional shaped Arita buttons are also found in assorted colors and include round, square oval, rectangular, and diamond shapes. The two bamboo patterns can be found with white and gold on a round black background and in green and gold on a white background. The round shape is supposed to be the rarest, however, the diamond shape is quite hard to find also. One of the characteristics of the Arita button is that even thought the quality of the porcelain is considered very find, the artists cover it almost entirely with the overglazing enamel. One of the few exceptions of this is the theatrical masks that are sometimes unpainted other than the features of hair, eyes, and lips. Arita buttons will often have gold highlights, but not always.

Most Arita buttons have self-shanks, but a few have been known to have applied metal shanks. Some collectors argue the pieces with metal shanks may have originally served as jewelry pieces remade into buttons, but most of the larger buttons are ONLY found with metal shanks.

Although modern and essentially made for the trade market following World War II, these little gems truly have a rich heritage. They have excellent workmanship and very fine details. Although the price is high, they are such lovely pieces, it’s hard to resist the urge to buy a few samples for any collection.

Button Artist Diana McClure Chats with Mary J. Whitaker

This article is the second in a series of interviews with studio button artists by Mary J. Whitaker. Thanks Mary J! -- ed.

In a short time, several button collectors who saw this jewelry started to ask Diana to make buttons. As she pursued this avenue of design Diana says she did a lot of research into buttons, and she "became aware of more of the button collecting world. I then teamed with a jeweler and we make buttons using many different materials."

And Diana and her collaborators do use many materials, including: clay (stoneware and porcelain), brass, silver, pewter, copper, ivory, horn, agate, and antler. She utilizes these materials in abstract designs, "but the button world has led me into subjects and this has been fun." This quest to make buttons of certain subjects makes some of Diana’s buttons reminiscent of classic buttons. Diana also continues to create special order buttons for her clients.

Diana has a BFA from the University of Cincinnati in Ceramics and her buttons are listed under MM & F Studio buttons and Diana McClure Pottery Buttons. Currently her buttons may be viewed on the C & B Weiser Web site.