Cream colored floral raffia handbag with circular handles

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

The body of the bag is made from three panels of plain-woven cream-colored synthetic raffia (front, back, and bottom ovoid base) all sewn together. A panel of stiffener, possibly cardboard, is layered under the synthetic raffia.There is floral embroidery on the front – green, orange, yellow, pink, and ivory French knots, flowers, and leaves that use a satin stitch. Attached to the bag are two 6” diameter circular wooden handles that are wrapped in cream colored resin wicker thread which is then sewn, and at it fastens with a white self-fabric woven “button” and a braided resin loop that corresponds to it. At the back of the bag are four embroidered flowers (orange, green, yellow, and pink) and the inside is lined with two panels of natural plain weave straw that are hand stitched along the top. There’s an open 6” wide self-fabric pocket at the interior back of the bag. There is no label.

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