Images(2)

Workbag

Date1826

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Richmond

MediumSilk, cotton, wood

DimensionsOverall: 7 × 7 1/4in. (17.8 × 18.4cm)

Credit LineGift of the Valentine Museum, Richmond, VA

Object number2023-220

DescriptionSmall urn shaped small workbag made from white silk satin and lined with glazed cotton. Like many of the dresses in the 1820s, this work bag is piped on every seam. The slower section of the bag is also trimmed in pleated silk satin. Small floral sprigs decorate the lower portion of the bad. Very fine silk ribbon is made into bows at each corner at the opening of the bag and tied into a bow creating a handle to carry it. The opening of the workbag is reinforced with wood to help hold its shape.
Label TextThis decorative silk workbag belonged to Anna Jane Robinson (1810-1878), who grew up on her family's estate, Poplar Vale, just outside of Richmond. In 1835, she married John Nelson Sheilds, and her father conveyed the property to the couple not long after. Both Anna and her husband are buried in the family plot that remains standing on the property.
InscribedInside the bag was a small note which reads: "Lute bag of my mother from when a girl of 16 years of age, Anna J. Robinson"
ProvenanceOwned by Anna Jane Robinson Sheilds [1810-1878](Richmond, VA); By descent to her daughter Cornelia Sheilds [1850-1942](Richmond, Virginia); 1931 given to the Valentine Museum (Richmond, VA); 2023 transferred to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, Va)