Purse made by ballerina Marie Taglioni (1804-1884). Croched in silk with metal clasp.

Fine blue silk crochet purse (unfinished) with band of steel beads in serrated pattern to upper edge, the edge being alternating blue and black blocks. The loose stitch held by a gold safety pin.

Cyril W. Beaumont Bequest

One of several bags and accessories made by Marie Taglioni in the Cyril Beaumont Collection. It came with a note in Margaret Rolfe's hand: "These two purses belonged to Marie Taglioni. The pink one with silver snap (S.17-1987) was probably made by her but I am not sure. It is very frail & has often been repaired. It is very old & has seen much use. The blue one with steel beads is unfinished, I think by the shape, it was intended to have a couple of bâtons on rings instead of a snap."
The purse is part of a unique collection of memorabilia and personal effects which evoke Marie Taglioni in the last decades of her life. She was a keen needlewoman and the collection contains both examples of her own work and her personal sewing accessories. A collection of Taglioni memorabilia was amassed by Margaret Rolfe, the granddaughter of Taglioni's closest friend in London, Mrs Boggs Rolfe; she attended Taglioni's dancing classes and received many gifts of Taglioni memorabilia, both from Taglioni herself and from her grandmother. These she passed to Cyril Beaumont, probably for the London Archives of the Dance (a number of the objects were referred to in "The London Archives of the Dance and some of its Treasures" by Cyril Beaumont, Ballet Annual, first issue, Adam & Charles Black, London, 1947, p110); the Archives never achieved an independent home and part of the collection, including the Taglioni memorabilia, was stored with Cyril Beaumont, where it became inextricably mixed with his own collection and came to the Museum as part of the Cyril Beaumont Bequest.

S.16-1987