A collector who's easy to buttonhole
December 31, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BUTTONS are such commonplace things that nobody pays much attention to them. Nobody, that is, except one man in Minhang who has turned them into a passion.
Mei Guoqiang, who works at the Minhang Museum, has been collecting buttons for years, earning him the nickname "king of buttons." He reckons he has about 10,000 in his collection.
"Buttons made of brass usually feature exquisite technique, while wood buttons are unadorned, but elegant," he said.
Get Mei talking about his passion and it's hard to button him up. His collection features buttons of a stunning variety of materials, including gold, silver, copper, iron, aluminum, shell, wood, pearl, agate, jade, crystal, diamond and ivory. Their shapes are equally diverse, from spheres and plum blossoms to butterflies and umbrellas.
Button patterns show landscapes, portraits, birds, fish and insects. The biggest button in Mei's collection measures 7 centimeters across; the smallest, 7 millimeters.
Mei is a collector by nature. He started off with stamps but switched to buttons after a chance meeting with a man who showed Mei two beautiful embossed buttons that he had kept for about 10 years. It was love at first sight.
In his quest for interesting buttons, Mei visited almost all the collectors' markets in Shanghai, carefully perusing everything on sale. Friends also contributed buttons.
Mei's treasures were displayed at a collectors' exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum in 1990, capturing the attention and interest of many visitors. He was even asked for his autograph, Mei proudly recalled.
His favorite is a delicate copper gilt button featuring an animal with the head of a leopard, the wings of an eagle and the tail of a phoenix. The button is trimmed with blossoms. He received the button from a fellow collector in the United States.
The engraving craftsmanship is extremely intricate and delicate, Mei said.
Buttons track the development of the fabric industry, he said.
They reflect the public style and craftsmanship of different eras and even the social status and wealth of the people who wore them.
"A small button can be the epitome of an ancient civilization, and collecting buttons is like a journey through time," Mei explained.
He was devoted to history and art when he was young, and now Mei is planning to compile a book about the development of buttons.
Mei Guoqiang, who works at the Minhang Museum, has been collecting buttons for years, earning him the nickname "king of buttons." He reckons he has about 10,000 in his collection.
"Buttons made of brass usually feature exquisite technique, while wood buttons are unadorned, but elegant," he said.
Get Mei talking about his passion and it's hard to button him up. His collection features buttons of a stunning variety of materials, including gold, silver, copper, iron, aluminum, shell, wood, pearl, agate, jade, crystal, diamond and ivory. Their shapes are equally diverse, from spheres and plum blossoms to butterflies and umbrellas.
Button patterns show landscapes, portraits, birds, fish and insects. The biggest button in Mei's collection measures 7 centimeters across; the smallest, 7 millimeters.
Mei is a collector by nature. He started off with stamps but switched to buttons after a chance meeting with a man who showed Mei two beautiful embossed buttons that he had kept for about 10 years. It was love at first sight.
In his quest for interesting buttons, Mei visited almost all the collectors' markets in Shanghai, carefully perusing everything on sale. Friends also contributed buttons.
Mei's treasures were displayed at a collectors' exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum in 1990, capturing the attention and interest of many visitors. He was even asked for his autograph, Mei proudly recalled.
His favorite is a delicate copper gilt button featuring an animal with the head of a leopard, the wings of an eagle and the tail of a phoenix. The button is trimmed with blossoms. He received the button from a fellow collector in the United States.
The engraving craftsmanship is extremely intricate and delicate, Mei said.
Buttons track the development of the fabric industry, he said.
They reflect the public style and craftsmanship of different eras and even the social status and wealth of the people who wore them.
"A small button can be the epitome of an ancient civilization, and collecting buttons is like a journey through time," Mei explained.
He was devoted to history and art when he was young, and now Mei is planning to compile a book about the development of buttons.
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