Handbag Utopia

In  an opulent  17th  century canalside house in the iconic 9 Streets area of Amsterdam you’ll find The Museum of Bags Amsterdam. The museum’s collection of bags, purses and luggage goes back to the 1500’s and is the largest in the world, featuring every design era, decade and mood. 

I urge anyone, male or female, who is interested in art, cultural history or fashion design and accessories, to visit. Handbag aficianados will think they've died and gone to heaven. It was here, among the many wonders on display, including its oldest treasure, a goatskin merchant’s pouch dating back to the 1500’s that I was inspired to put together my own handbag homage.

The Museum of Bags Amsterdam has its own fascinating journey. Antiquarian Hendrickje Ivo was inspired to start collecting  in the mid 1960s when she discovered a small tortoiseshell bag inlaid with mother of pearl dating from the 1820s. She found it near Norwich, England, when her husband Heinz was on business there. 

It was the beginning of a lifelong passion. Together with Heinz, Hendrikje collected more than 3000 bags before deciding to open part of the collection to the public. The first ‘Museum of Bags and Purses’ consisted of two rooms in the Ivos' own house in Amstelveen, where it remained for ten years. It was very much a family business, with their daughter Sigrid, an art historian, developing the museum's informative content. 

But as the collection continued to grow, it needed new premises.  Amazingly, an anonymous  philanthropist secured the Ivos a new home for the collection, the house on the Herengracht, a work of art in itself, the perfect backdrop. The philanthropist bought the house so the collection could stay in the Netherlands, and the museum has resided there since June 2007. It is now home to over 5000 bags.

The house was originally built in the late 1600’s by Cornelis de Graeff, an influential city councillor who was ten times appointed mayor of Amsterdam. It retains many of its beautiful original features, notably in its two period rooms on the first floor, which have been restored to their former glory. During museum opening hours, the rooms are open to the public as part of the museum cafe, where visitors can enjoy 'Period Room Lunches' and high teas. Champagne, tea, cakes and handbags, what more could you wish for.