Museum of Bags and Purses, Amsterdam
The Museum of Bags and Purses located in Amsterdam, The
Netherlands, is a unique museum devoted to historic handbags, purses and
suitcases that ranges from the Middle Ages through to the present. The
museum houses an impressive collection of more than 4,000 bags, making
it the largest museum of bags in the world, and one of only three
museums across the globe specialized in the field.
The museum is
the result of the unique collection of Hendrikje Ivo, who has collected
bags for more than 35 years. Ivo’s lifelong fascination with bags
started when she came across an ancient green tortoiseshell purse dating
back to 1820. Hendrikje's interest in discovering the history of this
first bag triggered a passion for collecting handbags. Before too long
she had collected more than 3,000 bags. She soon decided to show part of
the collection to the public. At first, the museum existed in two rooms
of a villa in Amstelveen, but as the collection grew, the couple looked
for a new location. Since June 2007, the museum is located in a 17th
Century patrician house at the Herengracht, Amsterdam's most prestigious
canal.
The earliest handbags in the museum's collection are typically small, used to carry coins, keys and sewing kits. Such bags were carried, by both men and women, under clothing to avoid drawing the attention of thieves. The development of pants with pockets for men, and the change from billowing skirts to more form-fitting dresses, led to handbags becoming an item for women, often with elaborate adornment.
With
the coming of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, technology
and the growth of rail travel accessible to the middle class led to
larger handbags, often made of durable leather. Brand name bags came to
the fore in the 1950s, epitomized by items in the collection including a
quilted Chanel purse and the Hermès Kelly bag. Among the exhibits one
would find Gucci, Chanel, Dolce and Gabbana, Vuitton, Alexander McQueen,
Issey Miyake and Stella McCartney.
Aside from the permanent
historical collection, the museum holds temporary themed exhibitions.
These exhibitions present bags of national and international
contemporary designers and give young designers a chance to show their
work to a larger audience at the same time. Besides viewing all these
treasures, visitors can participate in workshops and join tours in the
museum.
Today, the Museum of Bags and Purses is a serious institution and must visit for anybody with fetish for bags.
