Bay Harbour: July 06, 2022

<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>Harbour</strong> News Wednesday <strong>July</strong> 6 <strong>2022</strong><br />

14<br />

NEWS<br />

Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />

Treasures from the past: Bags of style<br />

AN ONLINE search of our<br />

Te Ūaka’s collection using a<br />

specific keyword or theme can<br />

reveal all manner of intriguing<br />

objects which convey stories of<br />

particular times and cultural<br />

practices.<br />

Our first item is a well used<br />

carpet bag, a style of travel luggage<br />

in widespread use from the<br />

mid 1800s.Often made by saddle<br />

makers, they were a simple<br />

design with a frame at the top to<br />

support the opening and were<br />

relatively inexpensive to produce<br />

from offcuts of Oriental rugs or<br />

‘Brussels’ carpeting. Lighter and<br />

more portable than a wooden or<br />

metal trunk, a good quality bag<br />

could last a lifetime, as evidenced<br />

by this example.<br />

Such bags met the needs of<br />

those wanting to carry a few<br />

essential possessions with them<br />

on a journey; you might well imagine<br />

an English woman in the<br />

1850s, fresh off the migrant ships<br />

to Ōhinehou Lyttelton, trudging<br />

over the Bridle Path with a carpet<br />

bag in one hand and a child<br />

perched on her opposite hip.<br />

Much later, in the hippie heyday<br />

of the 1960s, the popularity of<br />

the carpet bag enjoyed a resurgence,<br />

with a renewed appreciation<br />

of their practicality and the<br />

well worn patina of century old<br />

fabrics.<br />

Our second object is an elaborately<br />

beaded fan bag which<br />

manifests hours of intricate<br />

handwork by its maker, very<br />

often the same woman who then<br />

carried it over her arm to some<br />

elegant occasion. Sometimes<br />

referred to as a reticule (from the<br />

Latin reticulum for ‘net’, since<br />

early examples were made from<br />

netting), or ridicule, they became<br />

popular in the early 18th century<br />

Regency period and continued<br />

so throughout the Victorian era.<br />

A woman’s bag might contain<br />

little more than a fan and a<br />

handkerchief; nevertheless it<br />

could be a powerful symbol<br />

of status. The folding fan was<br />

introduced to Europe from Japan<br />

in the 16th century; their popularity<br />

soared in Victorian times<br />

and they became a hallmark<br />

of upper class pretensions in a<br />

highly stratified society. They<br />

could keep away insects, provide<br />

opportunities for coquetry and<br />

shield a face from heat, especially<br />

important when make up was<br />

often wax based.<br />

Our third selection is arguably<br />

one of the most unusual items<br />

in the collection - made from a<br />

preserved armadillo shell, it is<br />

lined with red material and constructed<br />

so that the tail makes<br />

the handle. The name armadillo<br />

translates delightfully from its<br />

Spanish origins as ‘little armoured<br />

one’ – these mammals,<br />

Above – Bag made of multi-coloured, carpet-like material<br />

with leather handles and straps.<br />

Above right – Drawstring bag, exterior entirely covered in<br />

glass beading, depicting botanical design; tassel at base.<br />

Left – Basket made of armadillo skin, with tail forming<br />

handle; lined with red fabric.<br />

which belong to the same classification<br />

as anteaters and sloths,<br />

are an important food source<br />

in their native Central and<br />

South America and Mexico. The<br />

animal’s shells have traditionally<br />

been used in the Andes to make<br />

the back of the charango, a type<br />

of lute.<br />

Most species of armadillo are<br />

not listed as endangered, yet<br />

some are considered vulnerable,<br />

although the nine-banded Dasypus<br />

novemcinctus appears to be<br />

increasing its spread across the<br />

southern states of America.<br />

Encountering these creatures in<br />

the late 1890s, an enterprising<br />

German immigrant, one Charles<br />

Aplet of Kendall County, Texas,<br />

Ferrymead<br />

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In this entertaining and insightful biography, award-winning writer Andrew Morton,<br />

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ENTER TO<br />

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For years she prayed for her mother to give birth to a son. She longed to be spared<br />

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struck upon the bright idea to<br />

turn them into baskets. His Armadillo<br />

Basket Factory shipped a<br />

staggering 40,000 products globally<br />

in its first six years of production.<br />

After exhibiting at the<br />

St Louis World Fair in 1904, the<br />

popularity of the basket resulted<br />

in increased production, along<br />

with other strange items made<br />

from armadillo bodies, such as<br />

lamps, desk sets and smoking<br />

stands! It is quite likely that the<br />

Museum’s basket originated<br />

from this source, then making its<br />

way ‘down under’.<br />

•Check out these wonderful<br />

items in full colour https://<br />

www.teuaka.org.nz/online-collection<br />

book<br />

release<br />

WIN THIS BOOK<br />

We have one copy of The Final Strife to give away, courtesy of Take Note Ferrymead. To be in the<br />

draw, email giveaways@starmedia.kiwi with The Final Strife in the subject line or write to Take Note Book<br />

Giveaway, The Final Strife, Star Media, PO Box 1467, Christchurch 8140. To be eligible for the draw, all<br />

entries must include your name, address and contact number. Entries close Tues <strong>July</strong> 19. The book winner<br />

for In the Blood by Jack Carr is Kaye Tolra of Heathcote Valley.