Handbags have been essential to daily life ever since people have had something precious to carry around with them and only the items have changed over time. The very first mention in written literature comes from the 14th century, even though Egyptian hieroglyphs show pouches carried around the waist. Bags were attached to what were called "girdles" which were fastened to the waist. Embroidery and jewels adorned these articles and were used to show status - the richer the person, the more elaborate the bag. To be continued.....
Silk embroidered linen bag with geometric pattern and pelican, gammadion and letter M in gold.
Based on the 14th century bag in the V&A Museum's collection, object 8313-1863 Embroidery pattern adapted from A Stitch Out of Time by T...
14th century, possibily Switzerland. Silk, metallic thread, and linen
Le contexte historique de la Savoie Médiévale et info sur assos Médiévistes francophones
Embellished textile purses in the French 14th century Purses in art Pockets as we know them today were not in use in the 14th century. People required some other conveyance for everyday items like money, a paternoster (prayer beads later known as rosaries), a small book of hours, or wax tablet and stylus. The purse, … Aumônières, otherwise known as alms purses Read More »
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And now for something a bit different: a guest post from one of our most faithful Twitter correspondents, Robert Miller (many thanks, Robert!). From LOLcats to the seductive Hey-Girl-I-Like-the-Library-Too musings of Ryan Gosling, the internet was made for captioning: slapping a surprising phrase on an unsuspecting image in the service...
Linen embroidered in silk in split, chain, stem and knot stitches, the background of gold threads couched with red silk. Museum of London? 'Medieval Craftsmen: Embroiderers' by Kay Staniland pg 43
A bag loosely based on a finding from Dordrecht (Netherlands), dated back to the 14th century. A very large bag for those who like to have everything with them! Dim. 25 x 23 cm (including 6 cm ear). The main compartment houses a 400 page book, a front pocket is just perfect for a mobile phone, ... ehm ... I meant for wax tablets, about 14x8 cm. There are also two large pouches for small items. Caution: the pictures show examples of our bags of that type! Please let us know the colour/ colours you'd like to have and we will make a bag for you- the estimated production time: 2 weeks- or ask us for a list of currently available bags for faster shipping.
My artistic endevours .....
Silk embroidered linen bag with geometric pattern and pelican, gammadion and letter M in gold.
Cross-stitched bag with heraldic motifs. Musée des arts Decoratifs, Paris. Illustration 8 from Leonie von Wilckens, _Eine Stickerei des fru:hen 14. Jahrhunderts als Bucheinband_ (An embroidery of the early 14th century used as a book binding). In _Documenta Textilia: Festschrift fu:r Sigrid Mu:ller-Christensen_. Ed. Mechthild Flury-Lemberg & Karen Stolleis. Mu:nchen, Derscher Kunstberlag, 1981. ISBN 3-422-00719-9
