Dresden Mesh Purse

Early 20th century

This Dresden mesh purse hails from the early twentieth century, when the invention of mesh-making machines dramatically increased daily link production. Recalling an impressionistic watercolor, enamel coats the purse’s fine ring metal mesh in hues of deep pink, green, and blue on a lighter pink background. Scallops serrate the bottom of the German-made bag. The purse’s golden metal hand chain hangs from a similarly-hued metal frame. An angular metal fastener embossed with scrollwork exemplifies the era’s Art Deco style. Pink silk lines the bag’s interior. The evening bag is one of two Dresden mesh purses (1997.0020.0003) in the Anacostia Community Museum’s collection. Both 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.