Wallets were developed after the introduction of paper currency in the 1600s. Known to the French as “le porte-monnaie,” The word “wallet” appeared as early as the 1300s, and, reportedly, in 1609 when Shakespeare wrote it in the tragedy “Troilus and Cressida” (*). As for its Greek word, πορτοφόλι (portofόli), it comes from the Italian word portafoglio, which means briefcase.
Prior to the introduction of paper currency, coin purses (usually simple drawstring leather pouches) were used for storing coins. Traditionally made from leather or other material, wallets often have pockets for visiting or credit/debit cards. The exhibition’s portafoglios are made of straw and mainly come from eastern and southern Africa, e.g. Djibouti, Kenya and Mozambique.
(*) “Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, wherein he puts alms for oblivion (…)”