Featured Old Button,strange design on front

This button was a metal detecting find from a medieval village field. It looks like aged bronze especially on the back, there's evidence on the front of gilding, the design on the front is a mystery. One inch diameter. Any ideas about the motif please? Looks like a spaceship in a wheat field. Sorry about the shadows. Thanks.~

 

I know absolutely nothing about buttons, but lack of knowledge rarely stops me from commenting.

I looked at your button in different orientations & think it must be right side up just as you show it. Agree it looks like a field with a crop & barley or wheat seem as likely as anything. I could see the 'space ship' as a stylisation of the sun beating down & those things at the bottom as sheaves or bales. Suspect not really connected, but there is a sun motif on the back as well.

Now, when did buttons come into use & who would wear one like this?

 

Could it represent a "Beltane fire" celebrating May Day in Northern Europe (Walpurgisnacht in Germany)?

(DH wrote the above because I asked him what he thought it might represent.)

 

Proof that aliens visited this field in a spaceship in the 14th century.

Sorry, I'm slap-happy from being so tired and couldn't resist.

 

Seems surprising to me that there is a design pattern on the back. That makes me think it wasn't just a trifle, but I'm just surmising...

 

What are those in the scene along the bottom?
Patd

 

I have seen a similar design line on the bottom on heraldic coats of arms, a guess at grasses or flames above and the pylon type thing a complete mystery.

 

Thanks, it could well be. I'll look into that. I can't even guess a date as the back looks older than the front.

 

That 'line' along the bottom has a rope-like look to me.....sure is strange looking otherwise, though!!!!!! Maybe an alien dropped one of his buttons on one of his/their trips here!!!!!!!!!!!! HEY!!! It's ALL I've got this time of night!!!!!

 

Pity it wasn't picked up around Area 51!!

 

I think it's the same as this livery button described as a caltrap. I assume they mean caltrop which is meant to disable horses etc. Anyway, here it is.

https://sites.google.com/site/liverybuttonsidentified/home/weapons-caltrap

 

that's nasty !

 

In my truck!

 

Wow, it is the same one, thank you SIS. Found in east of England about 20 miles from mine. I had never heard of such awful devices, and it doesn't seem many of these things are found (on my first internet search). I'll look on Detectorist sites. Thanks again.
Edit.
I've been looking at prominent Norfolk families and think there's a link to the Calthorpe or as sometimes spelled Calthrop family in that area. Looks as if they were landowners and one was a Sir in the 1500s. Think the livery button much later than that and likely to have found its way onto the field as 'shoddy' where old clothes were shredded up as fertiliser and buttons not kept.
Well, that's another 'alien' artefact explained!

 

Fascinating and that seems to make sense. I did find that the "alien" image was an image on some heraldry so it did seem less weird at least.

 

While searching for Dali litho's....this pin....from Antiquers....showed up on Google...
I was not amused.!

 

I'm not on Facebook or twitter and the picture has not been posted or sent anywhere else by me so I don't know how it got there. I don't back up pictures on the iCloud either. Maybe it's something to do with the Area 51 and if someone somewhere monitors any reference to it!!

 

Hi,
The bots are constantly patrolling the threads, I think the only one they do not touch is the general announcement.
greg

 

Shows up on google image search because it's posted on here - although you might be onto something with the Area 51 theory

 

yes...& I wasn't even searching for anything like it !!!