Beaded purses or beaded bags have been used for centuries. They are excellent for collecting and can be extremely valuable. The purses were often made using bead knitting and bead crochet techniques. Values can vary greatly from mere dollars or pounds to hundreds. Pictorial bags, well known designers and very tiny beaded bags can fetch high prices.
Purse of brown glass beads on a ground of netted silk. With a diamond diaper pattern in blue and white beads with clusters of green and blue beads at the intersections. In each diamond a letter ‘S’ in dark blue beads is surrounded by white and yellow beads. Lined with leather and buff silk. Two tassels of buff silk ribbon at the bottom. 1628 (made)
Object Type
A number of beaded bags from the early 17th century survive. Their stylized floral patterns and less expensive materials imitate the elaborate embroidered versions carried by the aristocracy. Many bear mottos or expressions relating to charity, friendship or luck, which suggests that they may have been used for gifts of money.
Materials & Making The development of the ‘drawn-glass’ technique about 1490 allowed the manufacture of large numbers of small, round, coloured beads with a central hole, of the type used in this purse. The glassworks on the island of Murano near Venice were the most famous during the Renaissance, but by the early 17th century the technology had spread to glass-making centres in Amsterdam and Bavaria. Beads were produced mainly for trade with North America and Africa, but they were also sold in Europe for use in embroidery.
Subjects Depicted The expression ‘hit or miss’ is first recorded in the English language in William Shakespeare’s play Troilus and Cressida published in 1606, where it has the same meaning of random luck that it has today. The expression may have derived from a country dance also known as ‘hit and miss’, recorded as early as 1626.
A Victorian beaded bag with a metal clasp stamped in a scrolling floral pattern, worked entirely in beaded knitting in two tones of pink in a repeat flowerhead/flame design (front and back), with a twisted and interlocked two tone bead fringing along the bottom edge, chain link handle and fully lined with cream moire silk (a matching mirror and purse inside). 19 x 23cm. (3)
Sold for £ 158 inc. premium at Bonham’s in 2004
18th Century Scholarship Sandblasted polychrome beads on a white background, divided into four distinct scenes: the first with a crowned monogram, the second of a city with the inscription “Ex Fulgure Lumen”, the third cardinal coat of arms, the the last of a flock of sheep under the radiant sunlight and bearing the inscription “… us clarus ab illo”; red silk cord Height: 8.6 cm. (3½ in.)
Sold for EUR 3,000 at Christie’s in 2011
Antique Gold and Beaded Purse, Tiffany & Co. 14 kt., cabochon sapphire thumbpiece, frame signed Tiffany & Co. 5 5/8 x 6 3/8 inches. Length of carrying chain ap. 12 1/4 inches.
Minor tarnish on gold frame. Beading in good condition. Beadwork separtaed from one side of frame. Fabric interior, with 2 side pockets.
Sold for $1,375 (includes buyer’s premium) at Doyle New York in 2015
FRENCH ART DECO METAL. SILK, BEADS, HANDBAG H 9.25″ W 6.25″ A French handbag with a faux jeweled frame. Made of silk and hand beaded. Having a 5″ drop. Circa 1910-1920.
Sold for $250 at DuMouchelles in 2019
Purse 18th century French
Reference: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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