Knots & spirals handbag
Object number: ROMGH.1998.94
Type: Handbag
Technique: Embossed, Stitched
Material: Leather
Width: 22.2cm | Height: 22.5cm | Depth: 7cm
Production date: 1920 - 1968
This unique dark brown leather handbag was designed by George Bain. It was hand-made by one of his students or a member of his family. Both faces have embossed tan panels only 10cm in diameter. A gusset between the front and back is formed from a single piece of the leather. The bag has a zip fastening at the top and quite a delicate handle made from three narrow plaits.
On the front of the bag is a round knotwork design. Bain took inspiration from a very similar pattern on one of the Pictish stones at St Vigeans in Perthshire. On the back is a circular spiral design similar to that on the Pictish Aberlemno Stone. It has six spirals circling round a seventh at the centre.
The handbag is handsewn with prominent over stitching. It’s lined with a black fabric which appears to be stuck to the leather side panels, leaving the gusset unlined.
See Bain's Celtic Art, Methods of Construction page 41, Plate F and page 60 Plate M
Author: Diana Cobden
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