Bag

Fine leather goods have long been a souvenir of travelers to Italy during a Grand Tour of Europe. This example from a Roman workshop incorporates the motifs of garlands and wreaths prevalent in the early 19th century, when the prevailing taste in aesthetics shifted from rococo curves to neoclassical order. Napolean, upon his coronation as Emperor of France in 1804, appropriated many of these design elements in his effort to establish and legitimize his position, and the taste spread throughout Europe. The stamped leather of this bag is similar to that seen in fine book bindings of the same period, while small red, white, and blue ribbon may have been a later addition to the donor or a previous owner.