Purse thumbnail 1
Purse thumbnail 2
+2
images
Not on display

Purse

1634 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The most luxurious embroidered purses, made in leather, velvet and silk, were used by both men and women. Women's purses were similar to those carried by men, but smaller, taking the form of tasselled bags that closed with tasselled drawstrings. These were often embroidered, while beadwork on leather was also popular. The decoration on this purse depicts a sprig of green and yellow acorns between a pair of birds with lozenges and flowers. It is inscribed 'I PRAY GOD TO B(sic) MY GUIDE 1634'.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Leather, embroidered with glass beads, with knotted thread drawstrings
Brief description
glass beads, 1634, English; Inscribed "I pray God to b my guide 1634"
Physical description
Drawstring leather purse embroidered with glass beads. A sprig of green and yellow acorns appears between a pair of birds with lozenges and flowers, inscribed 'I PRAY TO GOD TO B(sic) MY GUIDE 1634'.
Gallery label
(12/2020)
A number of early 17th-century beaded bags bear mottos or expressions relating to charity, friendship or luck. These two examples carry the messages, 'I pray God to B my guide 1634' [T.55-1927] and 'Hit or miss there it is 1628' [T.250-1960]. They would have been used to carry either sweet-smelling herbs or small gifts.

V&A, Room 40, Bags: Inside Out.
Credit line
Given by Mrs R.E. Head
Summary
The most luxurious embroidered purses, made in leather, velvet and silk, were used by both men and women. Women's purses were similar to those carried by men, but smaller, taking the form of tasselled bags that closed with tasselled drawstrings. These were often embroidered, while beadwork on leather was also popular. The decoration on this purse depicts a sprig of green and yellow acorns between a pair of birds with lozenges and flowers. It is inscribed 'I PRAY GOD TO B(sic) MY GUIDE 1634'.
Bibliographic reference
John Lea Nevinson, Catalogue of English Domestic Embroidery of the Sixteenth & Seventeenth Centuries, Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Textiles, London: HMSO, 1938, p.100, plate LXXII
Collection
Accession number
T.55-1927

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Record createdFebruary 25, 2003
Record URL
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