Permanent Collection
Materials and techniques
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Wooden school box with an image of a windmill, Netherlands, 19th century
The school box was the predecessor of the school bag. From the 17th to the 19th century, the school box was used to keep a slate, slate pencils and chalk in. In the times when schools had no tables, the school box was turned upside down and used as a writing table. What the school box looked like varied according to the part of the country you lived in.
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Stingray clutch with silver edging, Germany, the 1920s
This clutch is a striking example from the Art Deco period with its geometric shape and the use of an exclusive type of leather. In theory, skins from all animals can be used to make leather, and therefore that of fish too. The leather of the stingray and the shark are wonderful to work with. Today, the hide of the Nile perch is also made into leather.
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Reticule made of aloë fibre, Spain, end of 18th century
Natural products such as aloë- and cactus fibres, straw, reed, raffia and wood have been used for centuries to make bags, baskets and wallets. Natural materials were extremely popular and fashionable at the end of the 18th century and the start of the 19th century. These materials were also used in making clothes, hats and sewing accessories.
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Minaudière of aluminium and synthetic fibre, France, ca. 1930
At the start of the 1930s, a client of the Paris jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels used her cigarette box as a clutch. This inspired the jeweller to design the minaudière, the 'kokette'. The minaudière is a small, rectangular, metal bag with compartments for powder, rouge, lipstick and cigarettes. With this bag, Van Cleef & Arpels started a trend that was to be followed by many.
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Silver mesh chatelaine bag, Germany, ca. 1900
This bag has an Art Nouveau style clasp. Mesh consists of small metal rings that are interconnected to form a kind of web. Mesh bags were costly because the rings had to be connected to each other one by one. From 1909 they became cheaper because the mesh could be produced by a machine.
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Embroidered handbag in petit point, France, 2nd quarter of the 20th century
Petit-point is embroidery using half cross-stitches. From the 19th century, this handiwork technique became popular through the use of coloured square patterns. This made it so easy that both professional embroiderers and women at home used them. Paris and Vienna were key centres for professional petit point bags.
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Handbag made of "lucite", Charles S. Kahn, USA, the 1950s
In the USA, bags made of lucite, perspex or plexiglas dominated the fashion scene in the 1950s. The bags, designed in the shape of a box, are transparent or in bright lucite colours. Initially the bags were quite expensive but they became so popular that very quickly cheaper versions of more inferior quality were on sale everywhere.
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Leather tobacco pouch with lithography print, Germany, start of 19th century
In the 19th century, tobacco pouches were popular with men. They were made from beads, leather or textile and lined with chamois leather. Women expressed their handiwork skills (and love) in a wonderful tobacco pouch for their husband or father. The invention of lithography in 1796 in Germany made it possible to print images on leather.
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Textile bag, Latin Sisters, Netherlands, 2008
This textile bag has been decorated with recycled potato crisp bags. Bag designers are increasingly taking the concern for the environment as a point of departure for the design, manufacture and choice of material of their bags. The possibilities for using recyclable materials are infinite.
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Leather handbag with a leopard’s head, Botswana, 1962
Leather originating from exotic animals such as crocodiles, snakes and leopards is valued for its unusual structure. In the 1920's of the 20th century, the use of these leather types increased enormously. In 1973 the trade in many exotic animal species was forbidden, or strictly regulated by law, leading to a drop in its use.
