Today's button is a burgundy (or maroon) Bakelite curiosity featuring an almost pagan-like symbol of an eye. Interestingly enough, the upraised design was not carved into the plastic. It was stamped onto it via machinery. As for the eye, to me it evokes the overly-painted eye of Hatshepsut, or some other Egyptian queen. But then, Hatshepsut was technically not a queen; she was a female pharaoh. At any rate, this button comes from the era of the "Egyptian Revival" that took took place in the 1920's—a revival that mainly refers to architecture, but Bakelite was new on the market during this time period and even a button back then might depict a very fashionable hieroglyphic.
-Sherbert McGee
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