Floral embroidered purse used by Dinah Washington: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This black purse with floral embroidery was used by Dinah Washington. The purse is made from black synthetic satin shaped in a rounded pouch and gathered along the straight top edge to the hinged metal opening. A pink rose is embroidered at the center of one side and surrounded by smaller flowers in blue, yellow, and white. The gold-colored hinged opening has a floral vine engraved along the side. The clasp at the center opening consists of an oval raised metal piece covered in iridescent white seed beads along the top side and a circular raised metal piece covered in iridescent white seed beads at the front side. The oval piece has a curved side that fits over a hinge on the top of the circular piece. To open the purse, the circular piece lifts from the bottom to release the oval piece from the hinge. A short loop of thin chain is attached to the hinge on either side of the clasp. The purse is lined in black synthetic satin and there is one (1) interior self-fabric side pocket. Printed in gold below the pocket opening is the text "MADE IN FRANCE / HAND MADE".

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1940s
• Created by: Unidentified
• Used by: Dinah Washington, American, 1924 - 1963
• Type: purses (bags)
• Medium: synthetic satin, metal, and glass beads
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 6 x 7 1/2 x 1 in. (15.2 x 19.1 x 2.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (handle extended): 8 3/4 × 7 3/4 × 1 1/4 in. (22.2 × 19.7 × 3.2 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Popular music
• Object number: 2011.87.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dinah Washington's Family
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.