Drawstring bag
In her memoirs, the Marquise de la Tour du Pin commented on a bag, similar to this one, used to hold the missal or prayerbook she was handed on her way to mass at Versailles:
Then we would throw our trains on one side of our hooped skirts, and after having been noticed by one’s footman, who was waiting with a big red velvet bag adorned with gold tassels, we would rush into to the rows on the right and left of the chapel so as to be as close as possible to the balcony where the King and Queen and princes who had joined them… were gathered. Your footman would put your bag in front of you; you would take out your book, which you hardly used since by the time you had arranged your train and looked through the huge bag, the masses had already reached the Gospel.
Then we would throw our trains on one side of our hooped skirts, and after having been noticed by one’s footman, who was waiting with a big red velvet bag adorned with gold tassels, we would rush into to the rows on the right and left of the chapel so as to be as close as possible to the balcony where the King and Queen and princes who had joined them… were gathered. Your footman would put your bag in front of you; you would take out your book, which you hardly used since by the time you had arranged your train and looked through the huge bag, the masses had already reached the Gospel.
Artwork Details
- Title: Drawstring bag
- Date: early 18th century
- Culture: French
- Medium: silk, metallic thread
- Credit Line: Gift of Spencer Samuels, 1978
- Object Number: 1978.244.3
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
French
1774–92
French
early 1620s
French
1690–1700
French
1750–75
French
1785–87
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.