The museum
Who is Hendrikje?
Hendrikje Ivo
Hendrikje Ivo (1936) is a true collector, as an antiquarian she brought together small and larger collections. Her interest and love for bags started when she found a leather handbag from 1820 with tortoiseshell capping near Norwich, England. Because of the beauty of the bag, her interest in bags was aroused, and she started conducting research into the bag and its history.
Her fascination for bags continued to grow during the 35 years that she collected bags. Today, the collection consists of 4000 bags, pouches, purses, suitcases and other accessories dating from the 16th century to the present day. Hendrikje Ivo: 'It is the history of the bag, its continuous development and the variety in materials, forms and decorating techniques, and the trends in the history of art that make such an everyday object such a fascinating collector’s item’
