I’m a bit of a closet Anglophile, so I’ve been enjoying the coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, the celebration of the 60th anniversary of her coronation. (She’s only the second monarch besides Victoria to make it so long!)
My favorite piece of the festivities is definitely this stunning Royal Jubilee Banner made by artist Ann Carrington out of half a million golden buttons! (I’ve written about her work before back in the tenth volume of Craft.)
The banner was commissioned for the Jubilee and hung from the stern of the Royal Barge as it journeyed up the Thames this weekend. As Carrington says,

One of the great traditions of London is the Pearly Kings and Queens who have been embellishing their magnificent suits with pearl buttons since the mid 19th century [after] the sinking of a big cargo ship in the Thames carrying pearl-buttons from Japan in the 1860′s. I like to think this art work dovetails two very different Royal traditions whose histories have both been shaped by the Royal River Thames.

More:
Portraits of the Queen Made From Buttons
Button Piano