Fair of green velvet with drawstring and trimmed with gold thread on a box in the shape of scissors (phallus?) of ditto velvet and trim, with two metal eyes, anonymous, after 1580 Canvas Print

Fair of green velvet with drawstring and trimmed with gold thread on a box in the shape of scissors (phallus?) of ditto velvet and trim, with two metal eyes, anonymous, after 1580 Canvas Print

At first glance, the object looks like a case for scissors with a small pouch on the front, lined with leather and provided with a drawstring of braided gold wire. However, the case cannot open and the pouch is so small that hardly any coins fit in it. Of the three examples preserved in the Netherlands (R.M., A.H.M. inv. KA-18660, Oranje-Nassau Museum) are two lined with plain velvet and the third embroidered with river pearls and gold thread. The specimens in France (Musée de Cluny, Paris) and Italy (Bargello, Florence) are identical to the Dutch ones. The shape also resembles that of a phallus and possibly the purse had an erotic connotation; three coins (including one from 1591) were found in the copy in the Amsterdam Historical Museum.

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