LACE, CHANTILLY, SHAWL

This very large triangular cream silk & linen Chantilly lace shawl, hand bobbin lace from France circa 1860. A large naturalistic floral arrangement centre back and, where the points of the triangle fall down the front over the shoulders, is a smaller floral arrangement. The scalloped edges contain a braid-like scrolling design. A hand stitched gimp, in slightly thicker silk thread, outlines the design elements.

These huge shawls, 3 metres at greatest width were designed to cover the large bulky crinoline dresses of the mid 19th century. Such large shawls could not be made whole but were made up of strips 4 to 6 inches wide or split into smaller, manageable sections or motifs and joined using ‘Point de Raccroc’ stitch, invisible to the naked eye.

Chantilly was one of the favourite laces at the French court, particularly of Marie Antoinette. However production ended with the French Revolution 1789 as lace makers, like the aristocrats, perished on the guillotine. Production resumed with Napoleon (1804-1815) who encouraged the French lace industry.