Exhibition “Women’s Companion – Handbag” | Aspazija House

The Jūrmala Museum branch in Aspazija House is hosting a magnificent and diverse exhibition “Women’s Companion – Handbag”, which will reveal how at different times this accessory has been not only a practical necessity, but also a vivid messenger of personality and the style of its era. As the French fashion designer Christian Dior (1905 – 1957) once said: “A woman’s handbag is her personal history, dressed in leather or silk.”

Initially, a handbag was an item used at high society balls and social events. It became an indispensable everyday accessory for women in the second half of the 19th century, when representatives of other social classes gradually began to wear it as well.

The handbags on display at the exhibition represent the period from the 1880s to the Second World War. They are made of a variety of materials – silk, leather, silver, metal and others.

The exhibition exhibits handbags and accessories from the collections of 12 Latvian museums and 27 private individuals. Also on display are handbags that once belonged to prominent Latvian cultural figures – actresses Elvīra Bramberga, Dace Akmentiņa and Emīlija Bērziņa, opera singer Elfīda Pakule, as well as writer Anna Brigadere.

The author and curator of the exhibition is Mārtiņš Vesperis, a researcher at the Jurmala Museum, and the artist is Ieva Lapiņa.

The exhibition runs from May 28 to September 19.

“Aspazija House” opening hours – Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 – 18:00; Sunday 11:00 – 16:00; Monday – closed.