Drawstring bag
English, 1610–50
Item info from: https://collections.mfa.org/objects/119711

English, 1610–50
Item info from: https://collections.mfa.org/objects/119711

A beadworked bag, English, circa 1630, worked with white and clear carnation sprigs within golden beaded lozenges and a blue lattice, lined in white leather, plaited cord drawstring, 12cm, 3 3/4in wide pink silk upper edging is soiled and has perished in places revealing the leather lining, beadwork is coming away from the edging silk top left corner
I have no other info.
A beadworked purse, English, circa 1620-30, worked with a repeat design of blue and white florets and a brown lattice, edged in blue silk, with bottle-shaped beaded tassels to the drawstring, lined in kid leather, 11cm, 4 1/4inSplits in beadwork to front and back, lacking a few beads, silk upper edge is a little frayed, one of the tassels is missing a pendant motif – there are two not
A 17th Century glass beadwork purse: with legend “God Increz My Stoore 1636” and decorated in coloured beads with flowering shrubs, birds and plants
14cm. wide
V&A Accession number T.249-1960 | link to item at V&A
A number of beaded bags from the early 17th century survive. Their stylised 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. This example is inscribed ‘the gift of a frend’.
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
Citations: Hannah Robb, Purses and the Charitable Gift, Journal of Social History, Volume 49, Issue 2, Winter 2015, Pages 387–405, https://doi.org/10.1093/jsh/shv027
Hannah Robb, Purses and the Charitable Gift, Journal of Social History, Volume 49, Issue 2, Winter 2015, Pages 387–405, https://doi.org/10.1093/jsh/shv027
Beaded bag, 1623Signed TH GUIFT OF A FRIEND 1623
In good condition, with old restorations and later stitching along two vertical seams running from the bottom to the top border in between the I and E of ‘FRIEND’ and between ‘GIFT’ and ‘OF’. Wear and old restorations to the green ribbon border along the top
Height 4 in.
Mayorcas Ltd, London, January 1976;, Vogel Collection no. 233
Sold on Etsy.com:
A beautiful little 390 years plus survivor, made in England circa 1630 to 1640 during the reign of Charles 1. This SMALL little British bag was made on a netted ground with yellow under cloth and entirely covered in glass beads. Often in the past called Swete Bags for holding pleasant smelling herbs, it is now thought that its purpose was most likely as a gift containing charity money or alms by a Carolean period lady. The word ALMS a shortened form of the Greek eleēmosýnē meaning compassion.
For similar examples of this little swete bag please visit some of the world’s finest museums including – The MFA Museum, Boston, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, The Museum of Bags and Purse, Amsterdam and The V & A Museum, London.
Purse or bags were very small at the beginning of the 17th century. This small flat rectangular bag is fairly simple in construction, the luxury being the Italian or Bavarian glass bead coverage. The brown geometric crosses with central yellow cross is very pretty. The turquoise glass beads surround these crosses again worked in a cross design. Pretty symbolic really when you remember the function as an alms purse to give charity. This small bag also has just about retained both of its original beaded side tassels, and remains of both its base corner looped tassels. Its drawstring chord is also original. Like extant examples at museums the woven silk top section is likely a later replacement. It once would have likely had a kid leather lining over the thick woven lining – long since perished.
Size: Purse body a tiny 4 inch tall by 4 1/2 inch wide (10 cm by 11.5 cm)
Condition: This nearly 400 year old example is not offered in perfect condition, as one would expect, it is showing signs of its vast age. PLEASE study our many images, zoom in and/or request more if needed. Our images form part of the description. This is nearly 400 years old, it is difficult to describe every sign of age. The two additional top chords would have had fancy tassels suspended from them, now vacant. The beadwork is as vibrant as it was in the 1640’s, however there is a central 1 inch vertical area of broken ground netting/missing beads to the reverse, shown in our images. As previously mentioned woven silk top section is likely a later replacement. It once would have likely had a kid leather lining over the top of the thick woven lining – long since perished
For similar purse see Domestic Needlework by G. Saville Seliciman and Talbot Hughes, plate 40, pub 1926
Item link @ Fitzwilliam Museum
Beads (opaque black, yellow, green and brick red; clear blue and gold) threaded on natural silk threads. Lined in leather, bound at top with pale blue satin. Around the top RE / MEMBER / THE / POOR / 1631. Cords for hanging and draw strings, pear-shaped beaded drops, each with two small tassels, three pairs of tassels on bottom edge.
Height: 5 in
Width: 5 in
Label text from the exhibition ‘Feast and Fast: The Art of Food in Europe, 1500–1800’, on display at The Fitzwilliam Museum from 26 November 2019 until 31 August 2020: This colourful beadwork purse acted as a reminder of the importance of charity and a public expression of piety, clearly expressed by the 2019-12-04-s, ‘REMEMBER THE POORE’. Every time the owner dipped her gloved hand inside to remove a coin, she would see this instruction. England, 1631 Satin, leather lining, silk thread, cord and polychrome glass beads.
Yup, this one is all mine. I’m still a bit in shock.
Here’s my observations:
Reference URL: https://collections.ashmolean.org/object/787469
Linen and silk fabrics, linen and metal threads, glass beads, wood; netted beadwork
This netted beadwork drawstring purse is a personal statement of political allegiance. The lion and unicorn support a crowned red rose under the initials C R for King Charles. The motto SI DEUS NOBISCUM QUIS CONTRA NOS (‘If God is with us, who is against us’) was quoted by Speaker Glanville addressing Charles in the House of Commons on 15 April 1640.
Dimensions: 16.5 x 23cm (height x width)
Inscription/mark: B M, Initials
THE FELLER COLLECTION. Gift of Michel and Elizabeth Feller, 2014, WA2014.71.22, Accession no.: WA2014.71.29
Presented by Micheál and Elizabeth Feller, in honour of Professor Christopher Brown, CBE, 2014.
Brooks, Mary M., Feller, Elizabeth; Holdsworth, Jacqueline, Micheál & Elizabeth Feller The Needlework Collection: 1 (UK, Hascombe; Needleprint, 2011), page illustrated: 118
English, 1631 (date of creation)
Material and technique: netted beadwork; glass beads, linen, leather, silk ribbon
Dimensions: 12.5 x 18cm (height x width)
Inscription/mark: THE GIFT OF A FRIEND 1631, on front and back in beadwork
Presented by Micheál and Elizabeth Feller, in honour of Professor Christopher Brown, CBE, 2014.
In the collection of the Asmolean Musuem, Oxford, UK
Accession no.: WA2014.71.33
https://collections.ashmolean.org/object/787473
Further reading:
Brooks, Mary M., Feller, Elizabeth; Holdsworth, Jacqueline, Micheál & Elizabeth Feller The Needlework Collection: 1 (UK, Hascombe; Needleprint, 2011), page illustrated: 114
View page at Leslie Antiques
An exceedingly rare beaded purse with multicolored glass beads on a leather base, and with beaded and wood toggle closures. This early purse might be unique because of its age and that the date is actually worked into the decoration as part of the phrase “Gift of a Friend 1632”. The interior of the purse is of a very soft, fine leather, probably deerskin or lambskin.
Especially considering its age the purse is in excellent and exceptional condition, with all the beadwork present. One of the pendent tassels at the bottom is missing, and there is some expected and minor wear to the material above the beadwork. All parts of the bag are structurally sound. The size is 5″ wide by 4 1/2″ tall, not including the tassels or drawstrings.
Height without straps 4 in.

Reliquary Pouch, Russian, 2nd half of the 11th / 12th century
Item link page at Vienna Art History Museum
Textile; Silk, linen, gold thread embroidery, silk embroidery, silver, gilded, topaz, pearls, garnets, glass stones / embroidered
H. 15.5 cm, W. 13.5 cm
Older tradition linked the origin of this richly embroidered bag to the person of the first Christian king of Hungary, Stephen (István) I (around 969 – 1038). According to current knowledge, the phonetic image and the orthography of the texts embroidered on the front and back in Cyrillic script indicate that textile work emerged in Russia after the middle of the 11th century, so that the bag was previously used at best to store relics from 1083 canonized ruler may have served. The actual function of the pocket-shaped container at the time of its creation has not yet been determined. An original liturgical purpose seems obvious due to the psalm texts embroidered on the back, which are known from the liturgy of the Greek rite. However, direct comparison examples are missing. The bag owes its outstanding position among the medieval works of the spiritual treasury to the fact that it is one of the oldest surviving monuments of Russian embroidery art. The front is entirely covered by gold embroidery, which encloses various medallions with colored figures in silk embroidery. Christ is enthroned in the middle, surrounded by the four archangels, a seraph and a cherub as well as Saints Basil and Nicholas. The back shows a red silk fabric into which a cross and the above-mentioned inscriptions are embroidered with gold and red, yellow and green silk. The overall effect of the embroidery, which corresponds to works of goldsmith or mosaic art, is of an exceptionally high level: there are almost 700 stitches on one square centimeter. This suggests that it was created in an important artistic center, such as one of the great Russian monasteries. The bag probably only received its current closure at the bottom edge with a metal rod and the large topaz attached, as well as the small cross made of garnets on top, in the 17th century.
Currently issued:Imperial Treasury ViennaRoom II
INV. NO. Treasury, GS Chapter 186
V&A Accession number T.55-1927 | link to item at V&A
The most luxurious embroidered purses, made in leather, velvet and silk, were used by both men and women. Women’s purses were similar to those carried by men, but smaller, taking the form of tasselled bags that closed with tasselled drawstrings. These were often embroidered, while beadwork on leather was also popular. The decoration on this purse depicts a sprig of green and yellow acorns between a pair of birds with lozenges and flowers. It is inscribed ‘I PRAY GOD TO B(sic) MY GUIDE 1634’.
A number of early 17th-century beaded bags bear mottos or expressions relating to charity, friendship or luck. These two examples carry the messages, ‘I pray God to B my guide 1634’ [T.55-1927] and ‘Hit or miss there it is 1628’ [T.250-1960]. They would have been used to carry either sweet-smelling herbs or small gifts. V&A, Room 40, Bags: Inside Out. (12/2020)
Bibliography: John Lea Nevinson, Catalogue of English Domestic Embroidery of the Sixteenth & Seventeenth Centuries, Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Textiles, London: HMSO, 1938, p.100, plate LXXII
Purse of purple velvet, comprising four sides bearing alternately the crowned monogram ‘DG’ or ‘ML’ or two intertwined hands under a burning heart, embroidered with multicolored silk, gold thread, pearls, sequins and rubies, anonymous, c. 1600 – c. 1625
Rijksmuseum – more info
(Google translated) Purple velvet Pouch, consisting of four chips on which alternately the crowned monogram ‘DG’ or ‘ML’ or two entwined hands under a burning heart, embroidered with multicolored silk, gold thread, pearls, lovers and rubies. Model: Each patte ends in tip and has five holes through which a cord of braided silk – ending in spheres and acorns – is pulled through. Lined with red silk; now fades to pink. Decoration: in the middle of each fries a shield at the top ending in a tip and crowned with a floral ornament of (originally gilded?) Silver canetille, freshwater pearls and a ruby in the middle. At the bottom, the shield flares into a point and the same lines form two curls in which a violet is made up of (gilt?) Silver canetille, freshwater pearls and a ruby in the middle. A monogram of freshwater pearls and gold thread is embroidered under a three-point crown. The seams between the different pattes are covered with a trimming of braided gold wire. The purse ends at the bottom center in a stepped ornament of braided gold wire (probably around a wooden core) ending in four braids with a ball. The drawstring ends in acorns and balls of braided gold wire

Translation via Google Translate:
Purse
Venice, end of the 16th century.
13x8x6 cm.
Cut velvet dark green silk embroidered in silver-gilt and silver yarn and curly, pearls, the application technique, the technique of blue silk satin stitch, silver sequins. Suspension and borders in gilt silver cord twisted yarn. Pink taffeta lining. The bag, unusual shape, could fulfill most uses: purses, comosuggests chuisa front pocket with a cord, door dust orportaprofumi. Wisely suspended the waist of the dress, very much in vogue, the ‘bag-shaped lute “and very valuable both for the quality of the embroidery and the richness of the materials for setting stistica.The plant motifs that adorn every part of the accessory are made with grace and richness of details highlighted by the many pearls placed in various parts in order to highlight the preziosita. This refined accessory, which certainly emphasized the sumptuousness of a ceremonial dress, it was probably a gift love, how can suggest two hearts pierced by two arrows, according to a custom widespread in the Renaissance.
The original description, in Italian:
BORSA
Venezia, fine del XVI secolo.
Cm. 13x8x6
Velluto tagliato di seta verde scuro ricamato in argento dorato e argento filato e riccio, perle, nella tecnica di applicazione; seta azzurra nella tecnica del punto raso; pailettes d’argento. Sospensione e bordure in cordoncino intrecciato d’argento dorato filato. Fodera in taffetas rosa acceso. La borsa, forma insolita, poteva assolvere a piu usi: portamonete, como suggerisce la tasca anteriore chuisa da un cordoncino, porta polveri o portaprofumi. Sapientemente sospesa alla cintura dell’abito, come imponeva la moda, la “borsetta a forma di liuto” e alquanto preziosa sia per la qualita del ricamo e la richezza dei materiali che per l’impostazione stistica. I motivi fitomorfi che ornano ogni parte dell’accessorio sono stati realizzati con grazia e ricchezza di particolari evidenziati dalle numerose perle collocate in varie parti per sottolinearne la preziosita.Questo raffinatissimo accessorio, che certo ribadiva la sontuosita di un abito cerimoniale, probabilmente era un dono d’amore, come possono suggerire i due cuori trafitti da due frecce, secondo un’usanza molto diffusa nell’epoca rinascimentale.
© I Mestieri della moda a Venezia dal XIII al XVIII Secolo. Ala Napoleonica E Museo Correr, Venice. 1988.
Small flat bag of coloured beads netted on a foundation of thick linen thread, and patterned with bird and flowers and inscribed ‘IN HOP ME HART DOTH REST’. With brown, green, white, yellow and blue beads. Lined with chamois leather. Above the beadwork is a band of material of green silk covered with a pale pink silk.
There is also a pink satin lining and pink ribbon handles. The pink silk and satin are probably later additions.
‘IN HOP ME HART DOTH REST’ (Inscribed in beadwork above the birds and flowers)
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.
Link to page @ V&A
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.
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.
Beaded leather bag, 1630s, British; inscribed ‘heare et is hit or miss’, acorn pattern
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. This example is inscribed ‘heare et is hit or miss’.
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.
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.
Physical description: A flat, square leather bag, covered with red, white, green, yellow and blue glass beads in a repeating pattern of stylized acorns. It has silver thread loops, silk tassels and holes in the leather for a drawstring
Place of Origin: Great Britain (made)
Date: 1630-1639 (made)
Materials and Techniques: Kidskin, glass beads, linen thread, silk thread, silver thread; hand sewn, hand beaded
Dimensions: Length: 13.0 cm approx., bag only, Width: 14.6 cm approx., bag only
Beaded leather bag, 1630s, British; inscribed ‘heare et is hit or miss’, acorn pattern
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no): John Lea Nevinson, Catalogue of English Domestic Embroidery of the Sixteenth & Seventeenth Centuries, Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Textiles, London: HMSO, 1938, p.100
Materials: Kidskin; Glass beads; Linen thread; Silk thread; Silver thread
Pictures & info from: https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/drawstring-bag-119706
Drawstring bag
English
late 16th–early 17th century
Overall (without tassels and cord): 13.3 x 13 cm (5 1/4 x 5 1/8 in.
Silk satin emroidered with silk, gold metallic threads, metal purl, and seed pearls Braided silk and metallic cords and tassels
Small square drawstring bag. White silk satin embroidered with polychrome silk, gold metallic threads, metal purl, and seed pearls. Design of flower flanked by birds and cornicopias; floral motifs fill out ground. Stitches include laid and couching, scroll couching, satin stitch, raised work, and knots.
Salmon/white/metallic cords with two silk and metallic covered-wood tassels; three similar tassels at base. Pink silk lining. White satin is fraying at top and bottom to reveal vertical pink and green wefts.


IN GERMAN: “Beutel für eine Kreuzreliquie, Vorderseite, Stickerei mit Perlen, vergoldeten Appliken und Spiralknoten. Trier, nm 993. Nürnberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum (KG 562)
Auch noch aus dem späten 10.Jahrhundert stammt der mit bunter Seide in Ketten-, Stiel- und versetztem Flachstich auf Leinen gestickte Alexanderflug in Würzburg, der dort lange mit der großen bemalten seidenen Kiliansfahne verbunden gewesen ist.Der wohl von Anfang an für Hildesheim bestimmte, wahrscheinlich aber noch in Trier um 993 gearbeitete Beutel für eine Kreuzreliquie in Germanischen Nationalmuseum, Nürnburg, ist aus rotem, ungermustertem Samit. Auf seiner Vorderseite wirkt die Aufnäharbeit mit Perlenkränzen um vergoldete Appliken in Kreuz- und Herzform, teilweise mit eingelassenen Glasflüssen, rot gefärbtem Bernstein oder gefaßten Almandinen sowie mit vier Goldspiralknoten wie Goldschmiedewerk, während auf der Rückseite Goldfäden in versenkter Anlegetechnik verarbeitet sind.
IN ENGLISH (translated via internet):
Bags for a Kreuzreliquie, front, embroidery with beads, gilded Appliken and spiral knots. Trier, Nm 993. Nuernberg, Germanic national museum (kg of 562) Also still from the late 10. century originates the Alexanderflug in peppering castle, gestickte with multicolored silk in chains -, handle and transferred flat pass on linen, which was connected for a long time with the large painted be-being those Kiliansfahne there.
Probably from the outset for Hildesheim the determined, probably however still in Trier around 993 bags worked for a Kreuzreliquie in Germanic national museum, Nuernburg, is from red, ungermustertem Samit. Its front the sewing on work with bead rings affects around gilded Appliken in cross and heart form, partly with let in glass rivers, red colored amber or calm Almandinen as well as with four gold spiral knots such as gold forging work, while on the back gold threads are finished in sunk putting on technology.
Bag for a cross relic, front, embroidery with pearls, gilded Appliken and Spiralknoten. Trier, nm 993rd Nuremberg, germanic national museum (KG 562)
Also yet out of the late 10. century the Alexanderflug embroidered with colorful silk in chains, handle and staggered flat sting on lines in Würzburg, that comes painted been is there long with the large silk Kiliansfahne connected.That probably from the beginning for Hildesheim determined, probably however yet in Trier around 993 worked bags for a cross relic in germanic national museums, Nürnburg, is out of red, ungermustertem Samit. On its front, the Aufnäharbeit with pearl wreaths influences gilded around Appliken in Kreuz- and heart form, partial with admitted glass rivers, red colored amber or calm Almandinen as well as with four Goldspiralknoten as well as gold smith work, during the back gold threads in sunk designed technology processed are.
Thanks to Roxelana Bramante for her typing this for me.