14th-15th Century Nobles Purse “Jousting Rabbit and Dog”

Some Purses during the High Middle Ages were a way to express a persons wealth and stature. A fine embossed, or ornate purse was the equivalent of wearing a fine Rolex in today’s society. This purse is a finely tooled copy of a 15th century pattern from England. The body of the purse as well as the closing flap has the rounded outer edges giving it the stylized features which came to be known as the Kidney Pouch which was typical of this time period. It is tooled with a pair of “jousting snails” one of which is mounted by a rabbit the other by a dog. These types of figure drawings were most often found in the margins of illuminations of 14th and 15th centuries. The background is tooled with a geometric pattern of grids and dots. The overall purse is a chocolate brown with rust brown accents. The purse has a gusseted pocket with two coin pockets on the inside flap that close with decorative beads.