Purse

Filigree metalwork purses of very fine iron known as 'Berlin ironwork' were made in tiny coils and formed into patterns in the early nineteenth century; some survive although many are fragile and rusted to the point of disintegration. Others, like this example, were made of fine silver mesh and survive rather better. At the end of the nineteenth century, German silver-mesh purses and rigid, hinged purses with a finger ring were imported in great numbers.