{"product_id":"steel-mesh-purse","title":"Antique Victorian Edwardian Hand-Linked Steel Chainmail Coin Purse, Domed Frame, Ball Clasp, Wrist Chain, Gunmetal Patina, Late 19th Early 20th Century","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEvery ring linked by hand. The steel has been dark since before your grandmother was born.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is not the pressed mesh or woven wire of the mid-century vanity trade. This is an antique hand-linked chainmail purse: each individual steel ring looped and closed through its neighbours, one at a time, to build the body of the purse from the ground up in the true chainmail tradition. The construction is clearly visible in the close-up photographs, the rings small, even, and consistent, the weave tight and liquid in the way that only hand-linked mesh achieves. The purse drapes and moves with the quiet weight of worked metal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe frame is a plain domed arch in polished steel or nickel-silver, the mesh attached along its lower edge by individually punched prongs, each ring looped through its own anchor point — a quality of attachment that marks this as a piece made with care rather than speed. The clasp is a simple ball-and-socket push mechanism with two round ball terminals, both intact and functional. The wrist or chatelaine chain is a linked oval-ring chain in matching steel, attached at the apex of the arch. The overall patina is a deep, even gunmetal throughout: no bright polish remaining, the steel aged into itself over more than a century. This is exactly right. Do not polish it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Particulars:\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eForm: Hand-linked steel chainmail coin or card purse\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrame: Plain domed arch, polished steel or nickel-silver, ball-and-socket push clasp with round ball terminals\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMesh: Individually hand-linked small steel rings in close chainmail weave; mesh attached to frame by individually punched prong hooks\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChain: Linked oval-ring steel chain for wrist or chatelaine carry; attached at frame apex\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePatina: Deep, even gunmetal throughout; honest century-plus age patina\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCondition: Remarkably good for age. Mesh intact, no broken or missing rings visible. Frame clean. Chain intact with minor kinking. Please check photos carefully.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeriod: Late Victorian to Edwardian, approximately 1880s-1910s\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaker: Unmarked; possibly a small tag or import mark present — check in hand\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe rings were closed one at a time. Someone sat with this and made it, loop by loop, a long time ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArrives tucked inside its own treasure coffin and carefully wrapped as a vault relic.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vaen’kai Vault","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54934007284051,"sku":"VKVC-H138","price":174.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1085\/2771\/4643\/files\/DSC_7631.jpg?v=1789323239","url":"https:\/\/vaenkaivault.com\/products\/steel-mesh-purse","provider":"Vaen’kai Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}