Purse
1850-1899 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Knitted silk purse, stocking stitch, with metal thread loops.
Displayed behind glass.
Acquired in Julfa, the Armenian suburb of Isphahan.
Red, purple, green, black, white, yellow and mauve silk. A long, narrow purse with a rounded bottom, open at the top. There seems to be 2 gold coloured metal thread loops, one at either side of the opening. Seemingly independent of these is a silk cord which has been passed through small thread loops and which could be pulled tight to close the purse. The cord ends with a 'pendant' of interlaced gold coloured metal thread.
The purse is decorated with a series of barrow bands along the upper part: purple, reciprocal yellow and black trefoils, an indistinct green pattern on a purple ground, the trefoils again and then a series of vertical stripes on a white ground. There is a narrow and two wider stripes visible: the narrow contains a meander and the wider contain 2 stylized plants with a pair of birds perched on their top. The colours are used in bands: purple, green, red, mauve, purple etc.. Towards the rounded bottom there is a repeat of the trefoil band either side of a purple band with joining X- and S-motifs in white.
There seem to be narrow bands going down to the bottom in which a band with a star motif is in between bands of red, green and purple.
Displayed behind glass.
Acquired in Julfa, the Armenian suburb of Isphahan.
Red, purple, green, black, white, yellow and mauve silk. A long, narrow purse with a rounded bottom, open at the top. There seems to be 2 gold coloured metal thread loops, one at either side of the opening. Seemingly independent of these is a silk cord which has been passed through small thread loops and which could be pulled tight to close the purse. The cord ends with a 'pendant' of interlaced gold coloured metal thread.
The purse is decorated with a series of barrow bands along the upper part: purple, reciprocal yellow and black trefoils, an indistinct green pattern on a purple ground, the trefoils again and then a series of vertical stripes on a white ground. There is a narrow and two wider stripes visible: the narrow contains a meander and the wider contain 2 stylized plants with a pair of birds perched on their top. The colours are used in bands: purple, green, red, mauve, purple etc.. Towards the rounded bottom there is a repeat of the trefoil band either side of a purple band with joining X- and S-motifs in white.
There seem to be narrow bands going down to the bottom in which a band with a star motif is in between bands of red, green and purple.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | silk thread, metal thread, knitting. |
| Brief description | A purse, with silk and metal threads, Iran, 19th century |
| Physical description | Knitted silk purse, stocking stitch, with metal thread loops. Displayed behind glass. Acquired in Julfa, the Armenian suburb of Isphahan. Red, purple, green, black, white, yellow and mauve silk. A long, narrow purse with a rounded bottom, open at the top. There seems to be 2 gold coloured metal thread loops, one at either side of the opening. Seemingly independent of these is a silk cord which has been passed through small thread loops and which could be pulled tight to close the purse. The cord ends with a 'pendant' of interlaced gold coloured metal thread. The purse is decorated with a series of barrow bands along the upper part: purple, reciprocal yellow and black trefoils, an indistinct green pattern on a purple ground, the trefoils again and then a series of vertical stripes on a white ground. There is a narrow and two wider stripes visible: the narrow contains a meander and the wider contain 2 stylized plants with a pair of birds perched on their top. The colours are used in bands: purple, green, red, mauve, purple etc.. Towards the rounded bottom there is a repeat of the trefoil band either side of a purple band with joining X- and S-motifs in white. There seem to be narrow bands going down to the bottom in which a band with a star motif is in between bands of red, green and purple. |
| Dimensions |
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| Bibliographic reference | Miller, Lesley Ellis, and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, with Claire Allen-Johnstone, eds. Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2021. ISBN 978-0-500-48065-6.
This object features in the publication Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion (2021) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.224-1923 |
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| Record created | October 15, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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