This is a c 1830-40 velvet reticule embroidered with silk threads and decorated with flowers made of aerophane gauze - a popular material in the early 19th c. Both sides of this reticule are decorated with the same floral and foliate design. The reticule is edged in pleated silk of the same deep plum color as the velvet and that same silk is used to face the underneath of the flap.  The inside of the reticule is lined in cream silk which is deteriorating. The handle of the purse is formed by a bi-colored cord. It is in excellent, nearly unused condition. This original eye and hook are missing (although the imprint of the hook is still visible in the velvet) and there is what is perhaps a later sewn in thread "eye" present now.  It is approximately 7" wide (including the pleated side ruffles) and 6.5" high. (# 192446)