Solid Silver Chainmail Mesh Evening Bag & Coin Purse

Antique silver mesh evening bag for sale

This is an antique, French, hallmarked, solid silver, mesh evening bag, with long chain strap and attached, external silver mesh coin purse.

The handbag has a strap of stretched chain loops, joined to one another via smaller, circular loops. It is decorated with a string of chain tassels which knit together the bottom of the bag.

The free-hanging coin purse is attached to the bag with four short chains meeting at a single central ball, creating a figural "X".

This is a very good quality item and remains glamorous and usable.

Both pieces are stamped with the French hallmark and the maker's mark (le poinçon de maître).

The wild boar's head was the hallmark used by the Paris assay office after 1838 on smaller items having a silver finesse of at least 800. Below that is the maker's mark: an upright lozenge depicting a flaming torch and the letter "J" to its right. The middle chain link of the strap also has two tiny, unidentiable punched marks, which suggests that it is also silver.

Such bags were comming into fashion during the late 19th century, were highly fashionable during the 1920s and remained popular evenng wear well into the 20th century.

What condition is it in?

• Second-hand
• In very good condition
• There are many scratches on the solid surfaces
• There is the usual tarnish in all the inaccessible places
• The strap is intact and functional
• The clasps for the bag and the purse are still functional
• One of the tassels is attached to only one side, but the resulting gap is small
• There is a similar gap at the bottom of the purse

What are the measurements?

• The handbag is 16cm high, plus 2cm tassels (about 6.5 inches) and 17cm at the widest (about 6.75 inches)
• The chain strap is 40cm long
• The coin purse is 8cm high (just over 3 inches) and 7cm at its widest (2.75 inches)
• 150 grams in total

If you have any questions, just send an email to help@3bcshop.com.