Rhinestone Mesh Clutch

20th century

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.