On the alms purses, while she didn't seem to have a strong position on their purpose, she mentioned that the use for literal "alms" was only one of their functions. I'd say she leaned towards the "secular accessory" side.

The presentation on the cushion included a lot of contextual information on mosaics, wall paintings, and other designs that had similar layouts. (In some cases, this was examples of possible depictions of other piecework items depicted in other media, but in some cases it was just showing possible inspirations or parallel examples for the design layout.) There wasn't a strong conclusion on the anomaly or sole survivor question -- except for pointing out that, given the survival (and rediscovery circumstances) it can certainly be considered an anomalous survival.