Rhinestone Mesh Clutch
date: label: Date
content: 20th century
notes: label: Caption
content: This clutch sparkles with rhinestones secured almost invisibly by cotton mesh. A loop of shiny silver-colored beads guides the metal zipper across the purse’s top. The clutch is rounded on each side and scalloped at the bottom. Silk lines the clutch’s interior. The purse was made in Czechoslovakia, known for rhinestones and glassware. It belonged to renowned scholar-librarian Dorothy Porter Wesley (1905-1995), who organized and developed an unparalleled collection rooted in African American history that would become the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University in Washington, DC. Perhaps she acquired the clutch on her extensive travels to research and gather materials related to African American history, including to Europe.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anacostia Community Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Cite As
content: Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Anacostia Community Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 1997.0020.0005
objectType: label: Type
content: purse
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: rhinestones, cotton mesh, silk, metal zipper with beaded metal chain
label: Dimensions
content: 4 × 6 7/16 × 5/8 in. (10.1 × 16.3 × 1.6 cm)