Pouch

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This particularly complex design was, according to the donor, created by a family of beadworkers in Philadelphia. The details include five varieties of flowers, with four different shades used to create the rose and small forget-me-nots at top and bottom, which required frequent changes of color. The range in bead sizes and the faceted treatments add surface interest, texture, and depth to the overall design. Margaret S. Bedell (1861-1932) donated, by gift or bequest, over 500 objects to the Brooklyn Museum, including furniture, quilts, samplers, costume and Native American beadwork. Her collection of American and European beaded bags includes examples from Philadelphia and the Catskill Mountain region of New York State, as well as Italy, Austria, Germany, and Holland.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art