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Mabel Spencer's Beaded Purse
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| Accession #: | 2962.143 |
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| Title: | Mabel Spencer's Beaded Purse |
| Object Type: | Purse |
| Participants: | |
| Physical Description: | Beaded purse, floral pattern of black, blue, pink, rose, green, and silver seed beads; the pattern resembles needlework. Has dark blue beaded handles and cord drawstring with beaded ends. Lining is iridescent purple satin. |
| Description: | Beaded evening bags were all the rage among fashionable women in the 1920s. Spokane's Mabel Spencer meticulously crafted her own at her Seventh Avenue home, sitting at a long mahogany table under the light of a large Tiffany lamp. Beading the intricate pattern took five months to complete. "The work was slow and eye straining," Spencer later recalled. "Separating and choosing the collection of beads was a painstaking process." She outsourced the bag's finishing touches: it was lined and fringed by a salesperson at The Crescent department store. |
| Category: | Textiles |
| Subjects/Topics/Concepts: |
Beaded Bag (Personal Artifact->Personal Gear->Carrying & Storage), Purse (Personal Artifact->Personal Gear->Carrying & Storage), Women (Women)
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| Geographical Reference: | Spokane (Washington->Spokane County) |
| Dimensions: |
Object L x W 10 1/2 x 7 1/2"
fringe 1"
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| Materials/Techniques: |
bead (Material)
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| Related Exhibits: | |
| Credit Line: | Museum Transfer, Fort Wright Historical Museum, 1983 |
To order a reproduction, inquire about permissions, or for information about prices see:
https://www.northwestmuseum.org/collections