the ancient Greeks had buttons made of gold

[diamondcutter]

Buttons hold clothes together and decorate them. Today buttons are made of plastic, metal, glass and shells, but the ancient Greeks had buttons made of gold.

Source: Kid’s Box 6, CUP

I’d like to know whether “the ancient Greeks had buttons made of gold” means “the ancient Greeks had buttons which were made of gold” or “the ancient Greeks had craftsmen make buttons from gold”.

 

[5jj]

I’d like to know whether “the ancient Greeks had buttons made of gold” means “the ancient Greeks had buttons which were made of gold”

Almost certainly.

 

[Tdol]

The second may be true, but the sentence implies the first to me- always head for the simplest answer.

 

[Tarheel]

If they had buttons made of gold somebody would have had to have done the work to make those buttons. So both sentences are true.

 

[Tdol]

But the sentence is talking about the buttons rather than the makers for me.

 

[probus]

As a matter of historical fact, it is doubtful that the ancient Greeks had buttons on their clothes at all. Although the earliest buttons go back to the Indus Valley civilization, their use as clothing fasteners began only in the middle ages.

http://www.https//kingandallen.co.uk//journal/2018/history-of-the-button/