In order to be considered vintage, something generally has to be old enough to be considered “previously enjoyed” (okay... used), but not as old as say, your oldest relative. To be considered antique, something has simply to be old, but not just any old piece. According to various sources (in this case the Merriam Webster dictionary), an item is really only truly an antique if it can be dated back at least 100 years.
While this seems straightforward enough, every once in a while an item comes along that not only challenges our notions of what these terms mean, it seems to almost demand a new category altogether. Such is the case with an artifact that was found in Northern Iraq and is now thought to be the world's oldest women's handbag. The bag is thought to be that of a Mosul noblewoman dating back to the 1300s, at the time of the Mongol II Khanid Dynasty.
Made of brass that is inlaid with gold and silver, the intricately-designed bag shows a scene from the dynasty's court, in which workers are appealing to their new rulers. The characters depicted on the bag appear to be a man and a woman in Mongol dress, a lute player, a parasol carrier, a falconer, and most interestingly, a page carrying a depiction of the handbag itself.
What is most interesting about the handbag is the depiction of the woman in a very public venue, something that is not often seen in Islamic art. However, in Mongol culture, women actually did have a very public role, and it was this aspect of the handbag that made its provenance so certain.
So what did a 14th Century noblewoman from the Mongol Dynasty carry in her handbag? We can only speculate, but the depictions of the page carrying a mirror and a napkin along with the handbag give us a clue that perhaps these ancient women were not so different from us.
