Wallets, Pearl Sponge, Restoration Period, Flower Borders

Purse in pearl sandblasted. Double-sided decoration of two friezes of flowers in blue and pink. Steel frame. Blue silk interior. TIME RESTORATION. Dimensions: 10.7 x 7 cm. The technique of the shortbread, which has now disappeared, has long been a real mystery. At the end of the 17th century, objects of perfect perfection appeared in France, which developed in the 18th century and continued into the first half of the 19th century. Neither woven nor knitted nor crocheted, there are more than 150 tiny pearls (about 1mm) per square centimeter. The name "sanded" simply means that the refined objects made of it are covered with pearls as fine as sand. Recent research has been able to establish with certainty that the shortbread consists of a technique that combines threading with knotting, closer to certain points of lace than embroidery. Arranged in a staggered arrangement, the tiny pearls form a tight mosaic. The threading is done on silk threads, arranged in a row, respecting the desired pattern. These wires are then stretched on a frame and then the rows of beads are connected to one another by a knotted network which positions each bead and gives stability to the fabric thus obtained. The decorative motifs are made of flowers, characters or animals, sometimes accompanied by a dedication. This meticulous work is going to be applied to some precious and elegant objects such as boxes, pouches, purses or alms, bookbindings, necessary cases, even shoes or costume claddings. Production is so insignificant that it is attributed to anonymous hands, to conventines or ladies of nobility. Intended from the eighteenth century for high society and sometimes also realized by princely hands, it is also said that this art was taught, on the advice of the Marquise de Maintenon, to the residents of the Royal House of Saint Cyr, Education of the noble and poor girls. This art develops in the first half of the XIXth century before extinguishing.