Medieval and Renaissance Drawstring Pouches and Purses

	Drawstring Pouches & Purses
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This page focuses on what Goubitz calls “Money pouches or Drawstring pouches”: “bag-shaped leather or textile receptacles of thin and supple material.” I’ve divided these into square-based pouches and round-based pouches. The 16th & 17th century embroidered square-based pouches known as sweet bags can be found on their own linkspage. Square-based pouches Piece of a leather purse, used sometime between 80 and 180; found at the site of the Roman fort at Newstead Piece of a leather purse, used sometime between 550 and 750; found at the site of an early Christian monastery on the island of Iona Byzantine reliquary bag, 9th or 10th century Reliquary bag, ca. 993 Bag made in the Middle East in the 11th or 12th centuries Quite a lot of 12th-16th century reliquary purses at the Kerk O.L.Vrouw Geboorte (accessible through the Belgian Art Links and Tools, search for "bourse" in the object line) Purse embroidered in long-armed cross stitch in the Cathedral Treasury at Sens, 13th century 13th century liturgical purses and reliquary bags at the Musée d'art religieux et d'art mosan: 9, 12/1, 14, 15, 16, 451, 453, 570 13th century reliquary purse from the Sint-Truiden abbey 13th century bags; one in leather, one in red fabric 13th-16th century reliquary bags at the Cathédrale Saint-Paul: 454, 458, 461, 572, 482, 483 These sorts of purses also appear on funeral effigies and memorial brasses, perhaps as a sort of testament to the acts of charity that the person performed during his/her life. Examples include: Agnès de Baudement, 1207 Jean de Préux, 1210 Barthélemi de Roye, 1221 Berengaria of Navarre, ca. 1230 (detail) de Nanteuil man, 1230 Memorial effigy of Heinrich I von Brabant, after 1235 Adam de Villebéon, 1238 Archbishop Siegfried III von Eppstein, d. 1249 de Foro lady, 1250 de Nanteuil lady, 1250 Henri de Paroy, 1250 Lucie de Lèves, 1250 Isabelle de Villebéon, 1254 Gui de Toréel, 1270 Mebus du Chastelier, 1280 Péronelle de Mareuil, 1280 Richaud de Moisy, 1280 Clémence de Parthenay Guillaume des Barres, 1300 A tomb-effigy at Oissery Church, c. 1350 Purses carried by one of Lot's daughters (fol. 3v), Michal (fol. 30r), and Abigail (fol. 33v), The Maciejowski Bible (PML M.638), c. 1250 The Book of Games of Alfonso X, 1251-82, fols. 38r, 39v, 40r, 40v, 41r, 42r, 42v, 43r, 43v, 47v, 52v, 53r, and 53v Reliquary-purse from the fourth quarter of the 13th century Embroidered purse, made in Paris in the 14th century Embroidered purse with coats of arms, 14th century (more details here, here, here, here, and here); compare to a similar example at the bottom of this page) 14th century reliquary purse with sirens and gothic letters Dietmar von Ast, The Manesse Codex (UBH Cod. Pal. germ. 848, fol. 64r), c. 1300-1330, looks at various styles of purses and pouches. A few seem to be embroidered (perhaps in the styles described here). The yellow purse could very well be a light-colored leather. A row of (embroidered? brocade?) purses above the Fall of the Great Whore from a bible (BNF Fr. 13096, fol. 62), 1313 Bag with counted-work embroidery, 14th century, Rhineland Knit reliquary purses from Sion cathedral, 14th century Alms-purse with symbolic animals Aumônières from 14th century France See photos of extant aumônières on Joyce Miller's webpage. Purse with counted-work embroidery (also here), 14th century, Rhineland; buttoned (?) flap at top German reliquary bags of the 14th century Eleanor le Brun has charted patterns for some of these reliquary bags. Small bag or aumônière (CL21860) made in Italy in the 14th century; back, detail A medieval leather purse A prostitute (?), Romance of Alexander (Bodley 264, fol. 204r), c. 1338-44 Friendship between married couples (far right), Aristotle's Ethics (The Hague, MMW, 10 D 1, fol. 150r), 1376; may relate to actual bridal custom (see the "Sacrament of Marriage" illustration below) or symbolism (see The Medieval Art of Love by Michael Camille). Dispute, The Books of Modus and Ratio (BNF Fr. 12399, fol. 157v), 1379 The Sacrament of Marriage in base-de-page, the Très Belles Heures of Jean de Berry (BNF NAL 3093, fol. 176), ca. 1380 Drawstring purses with goldwork (also here), from the patrimony of Hermann von Goch, c. 1398 Reliquary purse, 14th-15th centuries Center panel of a triptych by the Master of Saint Veronica, 1400-1415 Capers (fol. 21v), leeks (fol. 24), turnips (fol. 43), pigeons (fol. 69v), and thrushes (fol. 72), Tacuinum Sanitatis (BNF Latin 9333), 15th century The Visitation, from the Book of Hours of Étienne Chevalier A goldsmith in his workshop by Petrus Christus, 1449 Woven lampas silk purse from Italy, made in the late 15th century and found in London Illustration of mining by Robinet Testard, late 15th century Detail from The Annunciation by Antoniazzo Romano, 1485 Gold mining (note similarity to Testard illo above), The Book of Simple Medicines (BNF Fr. 12322, fol. 121v), c. 1520-1530 Burse for the Great Seal of England, c. 1558-1603 The Misanthrope by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1568 16th century burse (probably liturgical) See also the sweet bags (heavily-embroidered drawstring pouches from the 16th & 17th centuries) elsewhere on this site. Round-based pouches A pouch with two pouchlets (also here), and drawstring purses with goldwork (also here), from the nachlaß of Hermann von Goch, c. 1398 Lettuce (fol. 26v) and millet (fol. 52v), Tacuinum Sanitatis (BNF Latin 9333), 15th century Catherine of Cleves distributes alms, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves (PML M.917, fol. 65r), c. 1440 A goldsmith in his workshop by Petrus Christus, 1449 A farmer's wife from a tapestry, c. 1470-1480 Mylon, Facta et dicta memorabilia (The Hague, KB, 66 B 13, fol. 184v) c. 1475 The Cure of Folly by Hieronymus Bosch, 1475-80 July, The Grand Hours of Anne of Brittany (BNF Latin 9474, fol. 10), c. 1503-1508 Detail from The Moneylender and his Wife by Quentin Massys, 1514 Melencolia I by Albrecht Dürer, 1514 Detail from the effigy of Edith Pexhall, c. 1535 The Calthorpe Purse, c. 1540 Woman's purse, 1595, France, silk velvet with metal thread and pearl embroidery, lined with silk taffeta (LACMA M.91.165) Bag (also here and here) made in Germany in 1596 Gaming purses These flat-bottomed round purses – most of them made in France – held money or counters while playing card games. See also 17th Century Gaming Purses. Museum of London, c. 1590-1620: “Gaming purse made with a round base and straight sides, tightly gathered with a draw-string along the top edge. Cream leather covered on the outside with red silk velvet embroidered with silver and silver gilt thread and cord and blue silk in laid and couched work, partially padded. Lined with pink silk. The edge is bound with a narrow band of metal thread. The base is decorated with a pair of shields bearing coats of arms, surmounted by a coronet and encircled by laurel sprays. Stiff floral sprays of four different types radiate from the base. When the purse is gathered up each gather is decorated with a sprig.” V&A T.20-1939, V&A 4062-1856, and V&A 522-1869, velvet gaming purses with metal-thread embroidery, 17th century Still life with a chessboard (The Five Senses) by Lubin Baugin V&A 1119-1869, in kidskin and metal thread-embroidered silk, with fleurs-de-lys and the arms of Jacques de Goyon de Matignon, c. 1660-1680 V&A 2010-1899, in plain green velvet with copper-gilt thread, c. 1660-1700 Versailles V4947, a gaming-purse with the arms of François-Michel Le Tellier, Marquis of Louvois Versailles V3328, a gaming-purse with the arms of Philippe de France, brother of Louis XIV Met 2009.300.2075, linen embroidered in fine petit point, c. 1690-1710

Drawstring Pouches & Purses

Purses in Pieces: Archaeological Finds of Late Medieval and 16th century Leather Purses, Pouches, Bags and Cases in the Netherlands

Craft, Industry and Everyday Life: Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York

Material Culture in London in an Age of Transition: Tudor and Stuart Period Finds c. 1450-1700 from Excavations at Riverside Sites in Southwark

The Medieval Art of Love: Objects and Subjects of Desire

Period Patterns: Bags, Pouches, and Purses

This page focuses on what Goubitz calls “Money pouches or Drawstring pouches”: “bag-shaped leather or textile receptacles of thin and supple material.”

I’ve divided these into square-based pouches and round-based pouches.

The 16th & 17th century embroidered square-based pouches known as sweet bags can be found on their own linkspage.

Square-based pouches

Piece of a leather purse, used sometime between 80 and 180; found at the site of the Roman fort at Newstead
Piece of a leather purse, used sometime between 550 and 750; found at the site of an early Christian monastery on the island of Iona
Byzantine reliquary bag, 9th or 10th century
Reliquary bag, ca. 993
Bag made in the Middle East in the 11th or 12th centuries
Quite a lot of 12th-16th century reliquary purses at the Kerk O.L.Vrouw Geboorte (accessible through the Belgian Art Links and Tools, search for "bourse" in the object line)
Purse embroidered in long-armed cross stitch in the Cathedral Treasury at Sens, 13th century
13th century liturgical purses and reliquary bags at the Musée d'art religieux et d'art mosan: 9, 12/1, 14, 15, 16, 451, 453, 570
13th century reliquary purse from the Sint-Truiden abbey
13th century bags; one in leather, one in red fabric
13th-16th century reliquary bags at the Cathédrale Saint-Paul: 454, 458, 461, 572, 482, 483

These sorts of purses also appear on funeral effigies and memorial brasses, perhaps as a sort of testament to the acts of charity that the person performed during his/her life. Examples include:

Agnès de Baudement, 1207
Jean de Préux, 1210
Barthélemi de Roye, 1221
Berengaria of Navarre, ca. 1230 (detail)
de Nanteuil man, 1230
Memorial effigy of Heinrich I von Brabant, after 1235
Adam de Villebéon, 1238
Archbishop Siegfried III von Eppstein, d. 1249
de Foro lady, 1250
de Nanteuil lady, 1250
Henri de Paroy, 1250
Lucie de Lèves, 1250
Isabelle de Villebéon, 1254
Gui de Toréel, 1270
Mebus du Chastelier, 1280
Péronelle de Mareuil, 1280
Richaud de Moisy, 1280
Clémence de Parthenay
Guillaume des Barres, 1300
A tomb-effigy at Oissery Church, c. 1350

Purses carried by one of Lot's daughters (fol. 3v), Michal (fol. 30r), and Abigail (fol. 33v), The Maciejowski Bible (PML M.638), c. 1250
The Book of Games of Alfonso X, 1251-82, fols. 38r, 39v, 40r, 40v, 41r, 42r, 42v, 43r, 43v, 47v, 52v, 53r, and 53v
Reliquary-purse from the fourth quarter of the 13th century
Embroidered purse, made in Paris in the 14th century
Embroidered purse with coats of arms, 14th century (more details here, here, here, here, and here); compare to a similar example at the bottom of this page)
14th century reliquary purse with sirens and gothic letters
Dietmar von Ast, The Manesse Codex (UBH Cod. Pal. germ. 848, fol. 64r), c. 1300-1330, looks at various styles of purses and pouches. A few seem to be embroidered (perhaps in the styles described here). The yellow purse could very well be a light-colored leather.
A row of (embroidered? brocade?) purses above the Fall of the Great Whore from a bible (BNF Fr. 13096, fol. 62), 1313
Bag with counted-work embroidery, 14th century, Rhineland
Knit reliquary purses from Sion cathedral, 14th century
Alms-purse with symbolic animals
Aumônières from 14th century France
See photos of extant aumônières on Joyce Miller's webpage.
Purse with counted-work embroidery (also here), 14th century, Rhineland; buttoned (?) flap at top
German reliquary bags of the 14th century
Eleanor le Brun has charted patterns for some of these reliquary bags.
Small bag or aumônière (CL21860) made in Italy in the 14th century; back, detail
A medieval leather purse
A prostitute (?), Romance of Alexander (Bodley 264, fol. 204r), c. 1338-44
Friendship between married couples (far right), Aristotle's Ethics (The Hague, MMW, 10 D 1, fol. 150r), 1376; may relate to actual bridal custom (see the "Sacrament of Marriage" illustration below) or symbolism (see The Medieval Art of Love by Michael Camille).
Dispute, The Books of Modus and Ratio (BNF Fr. 12399, fol. 157v), 1379
The Sacrament of Marriage in base-de-page, the Très Belles Heures of Jean de Berry (BNF NAL 3093, fol. 176), ca. 1380
Drawstring purses with goldwork (also here), from the patrimony of Hermann von Goch, c. 1398
Reliquary purse, 14th-15th centuries
Center panel of a triptych by the Master of Saint Veronica, 1400-1415
Capers (fol. 21v), leeks (fol. 24), turnips (fol. 43), pigeons (fol. 69v), and thrushes (fol. 72), Tacuinum Sanitatis (BNF Latin 9333), 15th century
The Visitation, from the Book of Hours of Étienne Chevalier
A goldsmith in his workshop by Petrus Christus, 1449
Woven lampas silk purse from Italy, made in the late 15th century and found in London
Illustration of mining by Robinet Testard, late 15th century
Detail from The Annunciation by Antoniazzo Romano, 1485
Gold mining (note similarity to Testard illo above), The Book of Simple Medicines (BNF Fr. 12322, fol. 121v), c. 1520-1530
Burse for the Great Seal of England, c. 1558-1603
The Misanthrope by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1568
16th century burse (probably liturgical)

See also the sweet bags (heavily-embroidered drawstring pouches from the 16th & 17th centuries) elsewhere on this site.

Round-based pouches

A pouch with two pouchlets (also here), and drawstring purses with goldwork (also here), from the nachlaß of Hermann von Goch, c. 1398
Lettuce (fol. 26v) and millet (fol. 52v), Tacuinum Sanitatis (BNF Latin 9333), 15th century
Catherine of Cleves distributes alms, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves (PML M.917, fol. 65r), c. 1440
A goldsmith in his workshop by Petrus Christus, 1449
A farmer's wife from a tapestry, c. 1470-1480
Mylon, Facta et dicta memorabilia (The Hague, KB, 66 B 13, fol. 184v) c. 1475
The Cure of Folly by Hieronymus Bosch, 1475-80
July, The Grand Hours of Anne of Brittany (BNF Latin 9474, fol. 10), c. 1503-1508
Detail from The Moneylender and his Wife by Quentin Massys, 1514
Melencolia I by Albrecht Dürer, 1514
Detail from the effigy of Edith Pexhall, c. 1535
The Calthorpe Purse, c. 1540
Woman's purse, 1595, France, silk velvet with metal thread and pearl embroidery, lined with silk taffeta (LACMA M.91.165)
Bag (also here and here) made in Germany in 1596

Gaming purses

These flat-bottomed round purses – most of them made in France – held money or counters while playing card games. See also 17th Century Gaming Purses.

Museum of London, c. 1590-1620: “Gaming purse made with a round base and straight sides, tightly gathered with a draw-string along the top edge. Cream leather covered on the outside with red silk velvet embroidered with silver and silver gilt thread and cord and blue silk in laid and couched work, partially padded. Lined with pink silk. The edge is bound with a narrow band of metal thread. The base is decorated with a pair of shields bearing coats of arms, surmounted by a coronet and encircled by laurel sprays. Stiff floral sprays of four different types radiate from the base. When the purse is gathered up each gather is decorated with a sprig.”
V&A T.20-1939, V&A 4062-1856, and V&A 522-1869, velvet gaming purses with metal-thread embroidery, 17th century
Still life with a chessboard (The Five Senses) by Lubin Baugin
V&A 1119-1869, in kidskin and metal thread-embroidered silk, with fleurs-de-lys and the arms of Jacques de Goyon de Matignon, c. 1660-1680
V&A 2010-1899, in plain green velvet with copper-gilt thread, c. 1660-1700
Versailles V4947, a gaming-purse with the arms of François-Michel Le Tellier, Marquis of Louvois
Versailles V3328, a gaming-purse with the arms of Philippe de France, brother of Louis XIV
Met 2009.300.2075, linen embroidered in fine petit point, c. 1690-1710