Set of seven Sherwani buttons

This set of buttons are mounted in gold and set with flat-cut diamonds on a blue ground. The reverse sides are enamelled with polychrome floral designs. Blue buds with green leaves support several five-petalled, red flowers. The buttons were intended to be attached to front of a sherwani, a knee length coat commonly worn in India in the late 1800s. A western adaptation, the sherwani became associated with the image of an elite and educated Indian man. Decorated sherwanis would have gem-studded buttons like these attached to them.