As life gets busier and our brain gets full, we think we remember everything until something jogs a long forgotten experience. This happened to me when I photographed my childhood button collection. Many brought back memories that transported my mind back to previous years. I didn’t just recall an experience, I remembered who I was at the time I wore or bought it. Old songs often do the same thing. Time travel without the DeLorean.
When experiencing an amazing event, you think you’ll never forget it, but eventually it disappears into the recesses of your mind, buried like the pharaohs.
In 1979, the Treasures of Tutenkhamun came to Toronto. It was the first time Canadians got to see these famous artifacts on home soil. I was 14 years old and both excited and terrified. Stories of the Pharaoh’s Curse were still fresh in my young imaginative mind.
The two buttons I purchased were pictures of my favorite pieces from the collection.
The first was the Tutankhamun Death Mask. Made of solid gold and inlaid with jewels, it’s a portrait of the young king. The mask fit over the bandage wrapped head and shoulders.
The second was a golden leopard mask. I haven’t found a lot of information about it other than it was worn by a Sem (mortuary) priest. It’s made of gold over wood. I thought it even more beautiful than the death mask.
Each of my buttons is a key to treasured memories.
