Raffia kiss-lock clutch, tuck-away chain

A navy clutch crocheted in flat raffia straw over a metal frame, the stitch dense and faintly glossy, worked into a soft trapezoid that slumps a little when it is set down. It closes on a kiss-lock with a fluted ball catch, and the frame itself is wrapped in the same raffia, so no metal shows on the outside. Inside: a navy faille lining, a zip pocket across the back wall on a brass zip, and a fine gilt chain clipped to two tabs on the frame - long enough to carry on the shoulder, short enough to drop back in and use the bag as a clutch.

The only label is a cream woven tag reading MADE IN JAPAN in brown. No maker, no fibre content, no care instructions, which is itself the dating: a country-only woven tag over a raffia-crocheted frame bag with a tuck-in gilt chain is the standard build of the Japanese-made bags American department stores sold from the 1950s through the 1970s. Listed as one size.

Condition: no flaws found. The raffia is unbroken with no split strands or thin patches, the colour is even front and back, the lining is clean with no staining in the corners, the zip runs, and the kiss-lock snaps shut and stays shut.