The pupils of Matvey Muravyov-Apostle, Avgust Sozonovich and Anna Borodinskaya followed fashion, despite the fact that they were far from cultural centers. In this exhibit you can see fashion accessories that they used in everyday life, as well as similar ones.
The displayed item is a chainmail wallet, an elegant but inexpensive ladies’ accessory. The history of this miniature handbag goes back about three centuries. In the Middle Ages, the handbag was replaced by an unpretentious pouch, which was worn on the belt by both women and men alike. This little bag was called a bundle at times. The contents of these bags varied from coins, keys, toilet items to a myriad of other little things. They carried everything that might come in handy outside the house and be useful at any given moment.
At the end of the 18th century, fashionable women, when arriving at a ball, a palace, a reception or theater, always attached a small handbag to the belt of an elegant dress with a special crochet hook. This type of handbag went with the ball gown outfit due to it’s necessity. One of the most popular models, a reticule, was soft, it was sewn from fabrics like velvet, satin, decorated with embroidery, lace, beads.
In the second half of the 19th century, reticules made of silver, gold or gilded chain mail became especially fashionable. Chains served as handles, and frame locks were finished with chasing and even precious stones or their imitation. At that time, chainmail bags were highly common, and were woven from rings or from tiny metal plates connected by rings. Most often they had a natural, metallic color - light sterling silver or gold, if the silver was gilded. Steel products were also made, including those from blued and blackened metal. The handbags made of small plates were sometimes covered with enamel, one-color or several colors - in the latter case, a mosaic effect was achieved.
The displayed wallet was donated to the museum collection from the Russian Cultural Fund. The wallet is made in the form of a flask with a soft case woven from small round rings. The throat is assembled from narrow sliding plates, with a hinged lid, decorated with a relief image of a horseshoe. A hook is attached to one of the plates for hanging the chain mail on the belt.
The displayed item is a chainmail wallet, an elegant but inexpensive ladies’ accessory. The history of this miniature handbag goes back about three centuries. In the Middle Ages, the handbag was replaced by an unpretentious pouch, which was worn on the belt by both women and men alike. This little bag was called a bundle at times. The contents of these bags varied from coins, keys, toilet items to a myriad of other little things. They carried everything that might come in handy outside the house and be useful at any given moment.
At the end of the 18th century, fashionable women, when arriving at a ball, a palace, a reception or theater, always attached a small handbag to the belt of an elegant dress with a special crochet hook. This type of handbag went with the ball gown outfit due to it’s necessity. One of the most popular models, a reticule, was soft, it was sewn from fabrics like velvet, satin, decorated with embroidery, lace, beads.
In the second half of the 19th century, reticules made of silver, gold or gilded chain mail became especially fashionable. Chains served as handles, and frame locks were finished with chasing and even precious stones or their imitation. At that time, chainmail bags were highly common, and were woven from rings or from tiny metal plates connected by rings. Most often they had a natural, metallic color - light sterling silver or gold, if the silver was gilded. Steel products were also made, including those from blued and blackened metal. The handbags made of small plates were sometimes covered with enamel, one-color or several colors - in the latter case, a mosaic effect was achieved.
The displayed wallet was donated to the museum collection from the Russian Cultural Fund. The wallet is made in the form of a flask with a soft case woven from small round rings. The throat is assembled from narrow sliding plates, with a hinged lid, decorated with a relief image of a horseshoe. A hook is attached to one of the plates for hanging the chain mail on the belt.
