#6645 $3,600 Sold
Brussels Duchesse lace shawl, 19th century
This superb triangular lace shawl is fashioned from handmade Duchesse bobbin lace. In the graceful flowing design, large bouquets of garden flowers are connected by bobbin lace brides with picot edges. Our magnificent shawl does not have a net ground, as does the Brussels mixed lace shawl.
The shawl has a variety of uses. It can be a wedding veil of matchless beauty; the pattern displays wonderfully when spread out over a full skirt; not least, artfully draped handmade lace is especially striking over a slim sheath gown.
Shawls of this type, typically ordered as part of a wedding trousseau, add a luxe, antique accent to a modern outfit or decor: you can also drape the shawl over your couch so you and your friends can enjoy the superior handwork. The connoisseurship of fine costume art is the mark of a cultivated woman.
To achieve the refined and subtle intricacy seen in Brussels Duchesse lace requires a rare and exacting technique from the master lace maker (see bottom picture.) Duchesse bobbin lace was a Belgian lace style developed in the 1850s. Parts were constructed separately with filmy linen stitch or half stitch and then assembled. Leaves were often veined with raised oversewn bundles of threads.
The condition is excellent.
It measures 117" across from point to point and 54" long at the center-back.
