Bag thumbnail 1

Bag

1820-1830 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This panel was intended for a type of bag known as a reticule. Reticules, or 'indispensibles', were used in the early 19th century to carry such necessities for a woman as her purse, smelling salts and handkerchief. They were often made and decorated at home, and lightweight frames with silver or steel clasps and chain handles were available ready made, on to which panels could simply be stitched.

Ownership & Use
The practice of painting designs onto silk velvet was an outlet for the amateur artist, to create panels that she could then make into decorative objects or accessories, like purses, with her needle. She might compose the design herself, or buy it and copy it. The effect of the paint colours on the pile of the velvet gave the pattern a density and texture quite different from the crispness and delicacy of painted taffeta and satin popular from the later 18th century.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Painted silk velvet
Brief description
Bag of painted silk velvet, Great Britain, 1820-1830
Physical description
Bag of painted silk velvet. Painted with flowers and butterflies.
Dimensions
  • Height: 20cm
  • Width: 22.5cm
Gallery label
(27/03/2003)
British Galleries:
PAINTING ON VELVET

The new technique of painting onto silk velvet provided amateur artists with a decorative effect that was quite different from the crispness and delicacy of painted taffeta and satin, which had been popular from the late 18th century. Once painted, pieces of velvet like the bag panel here, could be made up into decorative objects and accessories.
Credit line
Given by Miss M. Barry
Object history
Registered File number 1985/1525. The other half is T.171A-1987.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
This panel was intended for a type of bag known as a reticule. Reticules, or 'indispensibles', were used in the early 19th century to carry such necessities for a woman as her purse, smelling salts and handkerchief. They were often made and decorated at home, and lightweight frames with silver or steel clasps and chain handles were available ready made, on to which panels could simply be stitched.

Ownership & Use
The practice of painting designs onto silk velvet was an outlet for the amateur artist, to create panels that she could then make into decorative objects or accessories, like purses, with her needle. She might compose the design herself, or buy it and copy it. The effect of the paint colours on the pile of the velvet gave the pattern a density and texture quite different from the crispness and delicacy of painted taffeta and satin popular from the later 18th century.
Associated object
T.171A-1987 (Object)
Collection
Accession number
T.171-1987

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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