Evening bag c. 1925

Maria Likarz made this beaded evening bag sometime in the early twentieth century. The interplay of black, white, and red, is both bold and playful, and for me, it speaks to the sheer joy in the making. The surface is alive with tiny beads, each one a deliberate mark that builds into these geometric shapes. Up close, you see the labor and time, the almost meditative process that Likarz must have undertaken. The orange-red background is so warm, like a setting sun, and these dots feel like a rhythmic dance of shapes, almost like a painting by Kandinsky. The way the light catches each bead gives a subtle shimmer, transforming something functional into an object of desire. You can see this same visual language in the textiles of Sonia Delaunay. Likarz, like Delaunay, was transforming everyday objects into artworks. It makes you wonder about the stories this bag could tell.