Exceptional “glass sablé” purse bearing the arms of the Lévis?Mirepoix fami

Large and very rare rectangular document pouch with flap, entirely executed in “glass bead sablé”, an exceptionally delicate textile technique used in the 17th and 18th centuries. It consists of assembling thousands of micro?beads (approximately 1 mm, or about 150 beads per cm²) into a tightly structured network forming a continuous textile surface.
The pouch is decorated in polychromy with symmetrical floral motifs framing the coat of arms of the Dukes of Lévis?Mirepoix (Or, three chevrons Sable) set against an ermine background.
18th century.
A few extremely rare comparable examples are known, including a patch box at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (USA), several pieces in bead sablé preserved at the Musée de la Visitation in Moulins, and a number of octagonal boxes in Venetian museum collections.