500-Year-Old Leonardo Da Vinci Sketch Now A Real Handbag

by Justin Fenner | 12:52 pm, January 19th, 2012

Add crazy expensive handbags to the list of things Renaissance man Leonardo Da Vinci designed and never created. An Italian leather goods company has started manufacturing a purse that the artist, sculptor and scientist sketched on a piece of paper over 500 years ago.

According to The History Blog, luxury handbag maker Gherardini has produced a limited edition of Da Vinci’s purse, which historians say was sketched around 1497. The original design was filed away in The Codex Atlanticus, a 12-volume book of notes, theorems and drawings that Da Vinci is believed to have amassed between 1478 to 1519. Along with the purse, there are drawings of weaponry, notes on botany, a few math problems and even a few ideas for flying devices. But we’re here for the bag.

They’re calling it the Pretiosa (that’s Italian for precious, by the way), mainly because of its detailed decoration and handcrafted construction. Each calfskin bag is adorned with hand-sewn embroidery and carries a hand etched brass handlebar. There are only 99 in existence, and while we don’t know what the price is going to be, we’d suggest saving your money and maybe finding someone who works for the company and taking them to a lovely meal. The bags go on sale March 1.

And in case you’re not sold on the idea yet, take a look at the creation of the bag below.

[The History Blog via The Huffington Post]

Gherardini Leonardo Da Vinci Purse

Anonymous

Nice bag. Big question is, do they have the rights to use the sketch?
coffeenmorphine

countdown to steve madden knockoff
Emma

That is amazing.

Emma x.x.x

Emmadazzle.com
Leather Crafter

If I make one using the same sketch, is it counterfeit?
Slystephy

I think they have taken great liberty with the decoration, and if I had made this the handle would have attached at the ends of the brass frame instead of were they put them, it doesn’t appear they thought the handle out very well. I would love to see what you would come with!
Jessica Barton

500 years old means it’s public domain according to pretty much every copyright law currently in use. If you wanted to, you could make one of your own, based off the original sketch, and the company would not have the right to sue. However, if you made one based off their interpretation of the sketch, they could sue you.
http://www.margospatterns.com/ Margo

The original wouldn’t have had a handle, it would have had some kind of loops on the back through which a belt would be threaded. Essentially, it’s a fanny pack.

500-Year-Old Leonardo Da Vinci Sketch Now A Real Handbag

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