Victorian Carved Bone Coin Purse with Purple Silk Interior | Circa 1870 – 1900
Description
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Historical Context & Origin
Region: France or Western Europe
Material: Carved bovine bone, leather, silk textile, and metal fittings
Period: Late 19th century, circa 1870–1900
Description
An elegant Victorian-era pocket coin purse or change purse, fashioned with polished pale bone exterior panels surrounding a flexible accordion-style interior. Small luxury purses of this general form were produced during the 19th century from materials including leather, metal, tortoiseshell, bone, and ivory, serving as compact personal accessories for carrying coins and other small necessities.
The front panel is particularly attractive, featuring an applied hand-carved ornament depicting what appears to be a hand grasping a bundle of wheat or grain, executed in delicate relief. The slender fingers, cuff-like wrist detail, individual grain heads, and pierced carving demonstrate the fine miniature workmanship associated with decorative personal accessories of the period.
The exterior consists of shaped creamy-white bone plaques with a subtly contoured border. Between the two rigid covers is an expandable brown leather structure that allows the purse to open considerably wider than its compact closed dimensions suggest.
Opening the purse reveals a remarkably vivid deep purple silk interior arranged into multiple accordion-fold compartments. These divisions allowed different denominations of coins or small personal articles to be separated. A metal frame and clasp mechanism incorporated into the interior provides structure and closure. Comparable surviving French examples combine bovine-bone covers with purple silk compartmented interiors in essentially the same manner.
The contrasting materials—the warm aged bone, dark brown leather, purple silk, and darkened metal hardware—give the purse considerable visual character while preserving the intimate scale typical of Victorian personal accessories.
Features
- Shaped and polished bovine-bone exterior panels
- Applied carved motif depicting a hand holding wheat or grain
- Fine pierced and relief carving
- Brown leather accordion-style perimeter
- Rich purple silk-lined interior
- Multiple expanding compartments for coins or small objects
- Original-style metal frame and clasp mechanism
- Compact pocket-sized construction
- Attractive natural age patina and surface character
Cultural Significance
Small personal purses became increasingly refined fashion accessories during the 19th century, and makers produced examples in an unusually broad variety of luxury materials. Surviving period purses are known in leather, textile, metal, tortoiseshell, ivory, and related carved materials.
The present example is particularly appealing because its relatively restrained exterior conceals a carefully constructed expandable silk interior. This combination of decorative carving and practical compartmentalization reflects the Victorian interest in transforming everyday personal objects into finely finished articles of craftsmanship.
The carved grain motif also gives the object an additional decorative dimension. Wheat and grain imagery appeared throughout 19th-century decorative arts, including carved personal ornaments and jewelry.
Condition
Good antique condition consistent with age and use. The bone panels retain a smooth aged surface with scattered marks, minor discoloration, and natural tonal variation. The carved applied decoration remains substantially intact with fine detail visible. The leather accordion structure exhibits age-related drying, surface wear, and separation in areas. The purple silk interior survives remarkably well overall but displays expected creasing, wear, and minor losses associated with repeated opening and closing. The metal mechanism displays oxidation and surface wear.
Dimensions (Approximate)
Length: 3 in
Width: 2.25 in
Depth when closed: 0.35 in
Age (Approximate)
126–156 years old
Provenance
Formerly held in a private collection in Richmond, Virginia, United States.
Subsequently handled by Quinn’s Auction Galleries, Falls Church, Virginia, an established auction house specializing in fine art, antiques, decorative arts, and significant estate and private collections.
Later acquired by a private collection in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Learn More
Discover a related late 19th-century bone coin purse in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Explore our Collection of Victorian Artifacts and Historic Relics
Description
Historical Context & Origin
Region: France or Western Europe
Material: Carved bovine bone, leather, silk textile, and metal fittings
Period: Late 19th century, circa 1870–1900
Description
An elegant Victorian-era pocket coin purse or change purse, fashioned with polished pale bone exterior panels surrounding a flexible accordion-style interior. Small luxury purses of this general form were produced during the 19th century from materials including leather, metal, tortoiseshell, bone, and ivory, serving as compact personal accessories for carrying coins and other small necessities.
The front panel is particularly attractive, featuring an applied hand-carved ornament depicting what appears to be a hand grasping a bundle of wheat or grain, executed in delicate relief. The slender fingers, cuff-like wrist detail, individual grain heads, and pierced carving demonstrate the fine miniature workmanship associated with decorative personal accessories of the period.
The exterior consists of shaped creamy-white bone plaques with a subtly contoured border. Between the two rigid covers is an expandable brown leather structure that allows the purse to open considerably wider than its compact closed dimensions suggest.
Opening the purse reveals a remarkably vivid deep purple silk interior arranged into multiple accordion-fold compartments. These divisions allowed different denominations of coins or small personal articles to be separated. A metal frame and clasp mechanism incorporated into the interior provides structure and closure. Comparable surviving French examples combine bovine-bone covers with purple silk compartmented interiors in essentially the same manner.
The contrasting materials—the warm aged bone, dark brown leather, purple silk, and darkened metal hardware—give the purse considerable visual character while preserving the intimate scale typical of Victorian personal accessories.
Features
- Shaped and polished bovine-bone exterior panels
- Applied carved motif depicting a hand holding wheat or grain
- Fine pierced and relief carving
- Brown leather accordion-style perimeter
- Rich purple silk-lined interior
- Multiple expanding compartments for coins or small objects
- Original-style metal frame and clasp mechanism
- Compact pocket-sized construction
- Attractive natural age patina and surface character
Cultural Significance
Small personal purses became increasingly refined fashion accessories during the 19th century, and makers produced examples in an unusually broad variety of luxury materials. Surviving period purses are known in leather, textile, metal, tortoiseshell, ivory, and related carved materials.
The present example is particularly appealing because its relatively restrained exterior conceals a carefully constructed expandable silk interior. This combination of decorative carving and practical compartmentalization reflects the Victorian interest in transforming everyday personal objects into finely finished articles of craftsmanship.
The carved grain motif also gives the object an additional decorative dimension. Wheat and grain imagery appeared throughout 19th-century decorative arts, including carved personal ornaments and jewelry.
Condition
Good antique condition consistent with age and use. The bone panels retain a smooth aged surface with scattered marks, minor discoloration, and natural tonal variation. The carved applied decoration remains substantially intact with fine detail visible. The leather accordion structure exhibits age-related drying, surface wear, and separation in areas. The purple silk interior survives remarkably well overall but displays expected creasing, wear, and minor losses associated with repeated opening and closing. The metal mechanism displays oxidation and surface wear.
Dimensions (Approximate)
Length: 3 in
Width: 2.25 in
Depth when closed: 0.35 in
Age (Approximate)
126–156 years old
Provenance
Formerly held in a private collection in Richmond, Virginia, United States.
Subsequently handled by Quinn’s Auction Galleries, Falls Church, Virginia, an established auction house specializing in fine art, antiques, decorative arts, and significant estate and private collections.
Later acquired by a private collection in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Learn More
Discover a related late 19th-century bone coin purse in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Explore our Collection of Victorian Artifacts and Historic Relics
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