Bag
1600-1650 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Many decorative early 17th century bags survive, but it is not entirely certain how they were used and worn. They are too delicate and elaborate to serve as receptacles for money carried on one’s person on a daily basis. Few commercial exchanges in the early 17th century required cash, and most household shopping was done by servants. However, they were used as a form of gift-wrapping for the presents of coin that were offered as a New Year’s gifts to the monarch.
These embroidered bags may also be the ‘sweet bags’ frequently listed in inventories and offered as gifts. These held perfumed powder or dried flowers and herbs, and were perhaps applied to the nose like a pomander when necessary.
The pattern of pyramids is probably inspired by the first emblem of a pyramid or spire, illustrated in Geffrey Whitney, A Choice of Emblemes and Other Devises, 1586, and dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I.
These embroidered bags may also be the ‘sweet bags’ frequently listed in inventories and offered as gifts. These held perfumed powder or dried flowers and herbs, and were perhaps applied to the nose like a pomander when necessary.
The pattern of pyramids is probably inspired by the first emblem of a pyramid or spire, illustrated in Geffrey Whitney, A Choice of Emblemes and Other Devises, 1586, and dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Linen, silver thread, silk thread; hand sewn, hand embroidered, hand plaited |
| Brief description | Bag, embroidered canvas, 1600-1650, British; silk, silver thread pyramids & roses design |
| Physical description | A flat square bag of linen ground with plaited silver thread and coloured silks in tent and cross stitches with plaited knots. Unlined, the bag has a plaited drawstring, silver loops and finials |
| Dimensions |
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| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Many decorative early 17th century bags survive, but it is not entirely certain how they were used and worn. They are too delicate and elaborate to serve as receptacles for money carried on one’s person on a daily basis. Few commercial exchanges in the early 17th century required cash, and most household shopping was done by servants. However, they were used as a form of gift-wrapping for the presents of coin that were offered as a New Year’s gifts to the monarch. These embroidered bags may also be the ‘sweet bags’ frequently listed in inventories and offered as gifts. These held perfumed powder or dried flowers and herbs, and were perhaps applied to the nose like a pomander when necessary. The pattern of pyramids is probably inspired by the first emblem of a pyramid or spire, illustrated in Geffrey Whitney, A Choice of Emblemes and Other Devises, 1586, and dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I. |
| 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.99, plate LXIX |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 244-1896 |
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| Record created | July 8, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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