The original meaning of the word “purse” was a small bag for holding your money. In Britain, this definition of purse still stands and the term for a larger bag that holds more items is referred to as a handbag. Today, however, purse and handbag are considered to be the same in many countries. The recent exhibition Bags: Inside Out‘ at the Victoria and Albert Museum showed the handbag’s evolution over the last 500 years and the fact that this is far more than a simple accessory.
Areti S. donated us this straw bag that comes from the Solomon Islands. She bought it in Honiara, the capital of this island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania. Such bags are made mainly by women in villages and small communities in rural areas.