Collar and pair of cuffs
- Place of origin:
Devon, England (probably, made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
Linen and cotton trimmed with linen bobbin lace, hand sewn
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
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Portraits of women in the 1630s show elaborate ensembles of accessories trimmed with bobbin lace, including two or more collars layered on each other as well as kerchiefs and cuffs. Flemish bobbin lace dominated fashion in the period, its draping qualities complementing the style of dress worn. Light and delicate, made with finer thread and more open patterns than Italian lace, it was ideally suited for such use. The linen parts of the collar and cuffs would have required more frequent washing than the lace edgings. The latter were regularly unpicked and sewn to freshly laundered collar and cuffs. Such a translucent quality of linen, very finely pleated and sewn with tiny stitches and extremely thin sewing thread, is characteristic of 17th century linens.
This collar and cuffs may well have formed part of a larger lace ensemble. The lace is made in the bobbin lace technique used for Flemish lace, but its design and the type of thread suggests that it was probably made in England. The quality of English lace in the 17th century was affected by the type of linen thread available. English thread was softer and more irregular than Flemish, though it was praised for its whiteness. Custom for it was at the highest social level. The Countess of Leicester, wife to the English Ambassador to France, was commissioned to purchase English bobbin lace as a present for Anne of Austria, the French Queen, in 1637 and complained of the considerable expense.
Physical description
Linen collar and pair of cotton cuffs trimmed with bobbin lace.
[Collar (neckwear)] Collar comprises a narrow neck band of fine linen, to which is attached a broader panel of equally fine linen. This is slightly curved by means of minute, tapering tucks. The tucks are slightly closer together over the shoulders. A length of scalloped bobbin lace is attached to the outer edge, following its right angles at each end, in floral design. An additional tiny border of flower heads laps over onto the linen.
[Cuff] Cuff comprises wrist band of cotton, to which is attached a band of fine linen. This is curved by means of seventeen small tucks. A length of scalloped bobbin lace is attached to the lower edge of the cuff. There is an additional band of lace with flower heads lying flat along the wrist band, which is pierced with a hole at each end.
[Cuff] Cuff comprises wrist band of cotton, to which is attached a band of fine linen. This is curved by means of seventeen small tucks. A length of scalloped bobbin lace is attached to the lower edge of the cuff. There is an additional band of lace with flower heads lying flat along the wrist band, which is pierced with a hole at each end.
Place of Origin
Devon, England (probably, made)
Date
ca. 1635 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Linen and cotton trimmed with linen bobbin lace, hand sewn
Dimensions
[Collar (neckwear)] Length: 17.375 in neck band, Depth: 8.5 in, Length: 39.5 in lower edge, Depth: 4.25 in lace, Length: 44.1 cm neck band, Depth: 21.5 cm, Length: 99.6 cm lower edge, Depth: 10.9 cm lace
[Cuff] Length: 9.125 in wrist, Depth: 6.625 in, Depth: 3.375 in lace, Length: 23.2 cm wrist, Depth: 16.7 cm, Depth: 8.5 cm lace
[Cuff] Length: 9.125 in wrist, Depth: 6.625 in, Depth: 3.375 in lace, Length: 23.2 cm wrist, Depth: 16.7 cm, Depth: 8.5 cm lace
Object history note
Purchased at Sotheby & Co, London, March 30 1973, lot 30, for £100. No other provenance.
Descriptive line
Linen collar and pair of cotton cuffs trimmed with bobbin lace, probably made in Devon, England, ca. 1635.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Santina M Levey, Lace A History, V&A/Maney & Sons, 1983, plate 163 & A
Exhibition History
Van Dyck and Britain,
Tate Britain, London 14 Feb - 17 May 2009
Materials
Linen; Linen thread
Techniques
Hand sewing; Bobbin lace making
Categories
Textiles; Clothing; Lace
Collection code
T&F
