Purse

Unknown

early 17th century · Canvas worked with silk and metal thread, glass beads, spangles; Gobelin, tent, and detached buttonhole stitches; silk cord and silk and metal thread tassels · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Small decorative purses and bags such as this one rarely appear in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century portraits, but they have survived in relatively large numbers. This example, with its lively pattern of flowers, birds, and butterflies, was executed with a generous amount of gold and silver metal thread of very high quality, worked with polychrome silk threads to create subtly shaded colors.

Artist

Unknown

Date

early 17th century

Medium

Canvas worked with silk and metal thread, glass beads, spangles; Gobelin, tent, and detached buttonhole stitches; silk cord and silk and metal thread tassels

Culture

British

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Rogers Fund, by exchange, 1929