Bags

Curator of the exhibition: Draginja Maskareli, senior curator of the MAA

Organized by: Pančevo National Museum and the Museum of Applied Art in Belgrade

Since the earliest times, bags were a useful addition to clothing worn both by men and women. Through history, the emergence of modern bags was preceded by a series of various types, from medieval pouches attached to a belt, through 18th-century pockets, pocket books and workbags for handwork accessories, to coin purses of the 19th century.

The emancipation of women in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries left a significant imprint on the development of bags that we use and know today. A more significant participation of women in the business world and their increasing mobility gave rise to bags of large sizes and various types, ranging from business and travel bags, to day-to-day handbags and elegant evening bags.

The content of bags, which has changed over time, is also an important part of their history. Money, make-up and handkerchiefs have continued to be carried in them, whereas handwork accessories have disappeared because women have long ceased to do embroidery when socializing. Over time, new items have become part of their contents: banknotes and coins have been joined by credit cards, make-up sets have gradually increased, while hand-embroidered linen handkerchiefs have been replaced by packs of paper tissues. Various electronic devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, have taken the place previously occupied by handwork accessories, whereas cigarettes, which entered women’s bags in the 1920s as an expression of women’s struggle for freedom and equality, have been expelled from them over the past decade in accordance with the current trend of a healthy lifestyle.

Unlike shoes, which eventually adjust to the feet of the person wearing them, a bag becomes a projection of a personality through the way in which it is used. The bags held in the collections of the Museum of Applied Art in Belgrade date from the period between the second half of the 19th century and present. The bags from the Museum’s holdings were mostly worn in Serbia and within the Balkan region and they were part of the family heritage of their previous owners.

The exhibition Bags (from the 19th and the early 20th centuries from the collection of the Museum of Applied Art in Belgrade), presents thirty-three bags from the holdings of the Museum’s departments of Textile and Costume and Metal and Jewellery. These are bags of various types and purposes from the 19th and the early decades of the 20th century: coin purses, workbags for handwork accessories, handbags, evening bags and theatre purses. The exhibited items reflect the development of bags in Serbia, offering an insight into a variety of materials and manufacturing techniques, such as metal mesh, beads, leather, crochet or embroidery in half cross-stitch (petit point).

Workbag

Austria-Hungary, Vienna, late 19th century; leather, metal, rep; 8×14.5×6.5 cm; MAA accession no. 16142 According to the inscription inside the pertaining notebook, the workbag was given to an unknown person by the Princess Jelena Karadjordjević in Vienna in 1900.

Workbag

Bag

Serbia, around 1880; muslin, Brussels lace, tulle, beads, sequins; embroidery; 24×22 cm; MAA accession no. 1953

Theatre bag

France, early 20th century; leather, metal, glass, bone; bag: 6×10 cm, opera glasses: 4.5×8.5 cm; MAA accession no. 15503 Belonged to the family of Colette Janković, a wife of the artist Dušan Janković.

Coin purse

France, Paris, late 19th century; tortoiseshell, mother of pearl, metal, leather, silk; painting; 5×7 cm; MAA accession no. 10986

Theatre bag

Coin purse

France, Paris, late 19th century; tortoiseshell, mother of pearl, metal, leather, silk; painting; 5×7 cm; MAA accession no. 10986

Bag

Serbia, early 20th century; beads, silk, cord, cotton thread; embroidery; 25×21 cm; MAA accession no. 9714 Given by Dr. Radivoje Spiridonović from Belgrade.

Bag with the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbia

South Serbia, first quarter of the 20th century; beads; embroidery; 19×16 cm; MAA accession no. 22734 Given by Velislava and Darko Vidanović from Belgrade.

Bag

Early 20th century; linen, woolen thread, metal, glass, enamel; embroidery, casting; 13×16 cm; MAA accession no. 9982

Bag

Austria-Hungary, Vienna, around 1918; linen, woolen thread, metal, glass, enamel, embroidery, casting; 17×19×8 cm; MAA accession no. 22635 Belonged to the mother of the previous owner, Ana Jevrić (b. Radivojević-Vačić) from Belgrade, a wife of Srbislav Jevrić, director of the Banking and Commercial Joint Stock Company.

Bag

Western Europe, first quarter of the 20th century; silver, sapphire; silver mesh, casting; maker’s mark: M?; import mark of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia; 21×12 cm; MAA accession no. 9698 Given by Dr. Radivoje Spiridonović from Belgrade.

Bag

Russia, early 20th century; silver, sapphire, leather, mirror; casting, engraving; maker’s mark: ЩV; 10.5×15 cm; MAA accession no. 5282

Bag

Russia, early 20th century; silver, sapphire, leather, mirror; casting, engraving; maker’s mark: ЩV; 10.5×15 cm; MAA accession no. 5282

Bag

Austria-Hungary, Bosnia, late 19th – early 20th century; metal thread, cloth, linen; embroidery; 13×18 cm; MAA accession no. 15509

Exhibition Opening Video