Bag Mosul Gambier Parry Courtauld Gallery

The "Courtauld bag" is a medieval

handbag A handbag, commonly known as a purse in North American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag used to carry personal items. It has also been called a pocketbook in parts of the U.S. Terminology The term "purse" originally referred to a smal ...

made of brass and

inlaid Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form Ornament (art), ornament or pictures that normally are flush with th ...

with gold, silver, and an unidentified black material. Tentatively attributed to

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

, sometime between 1300 and 1330 when it was ruled by the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

, it is believed to be the oldest surviving handbag in the world.

History

At some point after it was originally made, the Courtauld bag seems to have been modified for use as a lockable

jewelry box Jewelry Box may refer to: * ''Jewelry Box'' (Shizuka Kudo album), 2002 * ''Jewelry Box'' (T-ara album), 2012 See also * Casket (decorative box) A casket is a decorative box or container that is usually smaller than a chest and is typically ...

. For example, a ring was added to the top of the lid, and a square of solder was added at the bottom of the inside, which was probably for a metal compartment being soldered inside the bag. There are also traces that a

padlock Padlocks are portable Lock (security device), locks with a shackle that may be passed through an opening (such as a chain, chain link, or hasp staple) to prevent wikt:use, use, theft, vandalism or harm. Naming and etymology The term '':wikt: ...

was added on the flap. The bag was acquired by the British art collector Thomas Gambier Parry in 1858, probably in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, and his grandson donated it to the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

in 1966. Before its current identification as a woman's handbag, it was variously thought by male academics to be a man's work basket, document wallet, or

saddlebag Saddlebags are bags that are attached to saddles. Horse riding In horse riding, saddlebags sit in various positions, on the back, side, or front of the saddle. Most attach to the saddle by straps and ties. They can be made from various materia ...

Construction

The bag is made out of five brass sheets

solder Solder (; North American English, NA: ) is a fusible alloy, fusible metal alloy used to create a permanent bond between metal workpieces. Solder is melted in order to wet the parts of the joint, where it adheres to and connects the pieces aft ...

ed or hinged together. It is inlaid with

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, silver, and a black material that is probably

bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...

or conifer

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

. The current rings on the bag's sides were probably too small for a strap to fit through, so the original rings were probably larger. The strap is now missing. The inside of the bag is now bare, but it was probably originally lined with fabric or colored leather. The bag's top panel features a court scene with a rhyming Arabic inscription. The court scene features a man and woman seated on a

dais A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionary< ...

, probably representing a Mongol royal couple. To the right of the woman is a servant carrying a mirror and a napkin, with a handbag over his shoulder; this may represent the Courtauld bag itself.

Identification

The Courtauld bag is tentatively attributed to Mosul under

rule, sometime between 1300 and 1330. According to Rachel Ward, it is the oldest known surviving handbag in the world. Ward says it may specifically have been made during the reign of

Öljaitü Öljaitü, also known as Mohammad-e Khodabandeh (24 March 1282 – 16 December 1316), was the eighth Ilkhanid dynasty ruler from 1304 to 1316 in Tabriz, Iran. His name 'Öjaitü' means 'blessed' in the Mongolian language and his last name 'Khod ...

, between 1304 and 1316, based on stylistic similarities to other items made during his reign. She writes that, based on the court scene on the top, the bag likely belonged to an Ilkhanid noblewoman, since contemporary manuscript illustrations depict page boys carrying handbags next to noblewomen but never next to men. as She writes that the bag may have been commissioned as a diplomatic gift for an Ilkhanid

khatun Khatun ( ) is a title of the female counterpart to a Khan (title), khan or a khagan of the Göktürks, Turkic Khaganates and in the subsequent Mongol Empire. Etymology and history Before the advent of Islam in Central Asia, Khatun was the title of ...

or princess by the ''

shihna Shiḥna () was a medieval Islamic term meaning, roughly, "military administrator." The term was used particularly for the Seljuk Turks' representative in Iraq, who exerted the Seljuks' power over the Abbasid caliph. The Seljuks themselves ruled ...

'' of Mosul during a visit by the royal court to the city. If this was the case, it may have been rarely if ever used, which would explain the relative lack of wear on the bag's reverse. If it was used, the bag would have carried similar items to handbags today: "a few gold coins in case of tips, makeup, and items the holder does not want on display".

References

{{Reflist

External links

Replica Bags
Bags (fashion) Islamic metal art 14th-century works Collection of the Courtauld Institute of Art