Purse in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2012

Purse

Date: early 17th century

Culture: British

Medium: Silk and metal thread on canvas

Dimensions: L. 3 x W. 2 5/8 inches (7.6 x 6.7 cm)

Classification: Textiles-Embroidered

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, by exchange, 1929

Accession Number: 29.23.19

Description: The elaborately embroidered purses exhibited in this case probably correspond to the sweet bags" recorded in a number of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century inventories. The purses appear to have been worn around the person and to have carried scented herbs and essences to ward off the evil smells of daily life.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/222246