Dear Devon, Some history memories: I seem to recall that Napoleon ordered very large laces for his first wife, Empress Josephine (m. 1796-1809). These took so long to execute by hand that they were delivered when he was married to his second wife, Marie Louise - Duchess of Parma (m. 1810-1821). I think this is mentioned in several lace history books, and explains why grounds were worked in narrow strips and lace motifs were individually made and appliqued on various grounds for large orders.Â
We have also read that lacemakers were not paid for laces until they were delivered, which explains why they developed an early form of an assembly line, with a number of lacemakers all working on different stages of the same commission. There been discussions on Arachne through the years that in part laces lacemakers only received a pricking (design) for the elements they worked as individuals, and not the entire large piece of lace - to ensure that a design would not be copied. I remember this was done with the Honiton wedding laces made for Queen Victoria, so it would make sense that this was common practice in lace-making countries. Only the very rich and powerful could afford laces that were made on a grand scale. They would not tolerate lace copies being made for the use of others. Jeri Ames in Maine USALace and Embroidery Resource Center-------------------------------------------In a message dated 1/19/2019 1:03:13 PM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Yesterday, I realized after going through my photography, that themaking of the drochel ground in strips in Point d'Angleterre, orBrussels vrai drochel edgings is the norm, although I had nevernoticed it before. Subsequently, I heard from a well regarded laceauthority who has a great deal of knowledge.She asked me whether I hadever seen a piece that was strips joined together with the motifsapplied. She also suggested that if the process was applique, perhapsthe underlying mesh was actually machine made. This got me to thinking about why I had formed the opinion that thishad been done, and I looked around in my books. I found the source ofthis information in Marian Powys, Lace and Lacemaking, p. 136. "Thetechnique of this lace is the same as Point d'Angleterre, but in theEmpire period, when there was often little decoration at the border ofa large space of net, the ground was made in strips aboutthree-quarters of an inch wide, invisibly joined. The lace was appliedto this ground, or more exactly the ground to the lace, as was doneafter with the machine-made nets in the Brussels appllique laces." Sheis writing about the Diana and Endymion coverlet which we have in theMet (44.91.1) It is quite likely that this may be a commission forroyalty or the aristocracy. I am posting a photo of this piece showingthe applique. It is the one with a green background. I looked throughmy other photography to see if there were any other examples of pieceswhere I believe that the motifs were sewn on to handmade drochel net.I found several, but all of a royal nature except for one, which wasjust a border. Here are some photos. I have posted the photos on thelace identification group of laceioli.ning.http://laceioli.ning.com/group/identification-history?xg_source =activityOn pink, Napoleonic bee, 09.68.234. Fleur de lis: Charles X monogram,1824 (20.101.1a). Napoleonic bee, on a veil, 54.44.1, and the bordershown from the back (14.14.2) So perhaps there is a certain date at which this was done, or maybeonly for royalty? Insights are welcome! Devon - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
