Collar or band, man's, linen with needle lace, 1660-1675, Venice, Italy

Collar or falling band of finely woven linen, with deep bib-front of raised needle lace.
At the neck is a strip of linen to fold inside and fit closely around the neck, its selvedge forming the outside edge, and the open ends neatly turned in and sewn down. It is sewn to another piece of linen of slightly less dense weave to shape the band over the shoulders; this has a tiny tuck each side whose purpose is not clear. A plaited bobbin lace footing around the edge of this attaches the needle lace panel, forming a narrower strip at the back and widening out into the bib front. The linen has a pierced hole at centre front on each side which may be original to its fastening method. The needle lace has an attached edging in detached buttonhole stitch, which may be contemporary but has signs of re-attachment.

The legible, balanced pattern in the lace suggests that it has not undergone reconfiguration at a later period.
There is a tiny embroidered mark - HD run together - in cross stitch in pink silk at the centre back of the linen.

Bequeathed by Lady Ludlow

The lace collar was part of a major bequest of lace from Lady Ludlow.

Needle lace had continued to be made in Italy through the years of the mid 17th century when Flemish bobbin lace dominated fashion. During the 1660s, under the influence of French fashion and the taste of Louis XIV and his Court, Venetian needle lace took over as the most fashionable style. Venetian lace makers transformed needle lace into a three dimensional fabric in keeping with the baroque style of the later seventeenth century, a style based on mass and movement, and bold motifs. The patronage of the Catholic church was also crucial to the rapid expansion of the industry. The Italian lace makers had elaborated the part lace technique, so could split large baroque designs into sections, and produce large-scale items like dress flounces, church vestments and furnishings. They used a careful balance of solid form against space, with density broken up by filling stitches, and flat surfaces relieved with three-dimensional detailing. The fashion items on which Venetian lace was shown to best advantage were wide collars for women, and bib-fronted bands for men, like this one. These bands, displaying scrolling baroque designs in mirror image, were worn by men of fashion throughout Europe between 1660 and 1690. Lace for bands and cravats was available either by length or by the piece, made to shape.

Boldly-patterned three-dimensional lace remained popular until the end of the seventeenth century, but in Venice the technique was used for needle lace in a variety of scales, some of exceptional delicacy and elaboration. All shared a common style of branching, curving stems with exotic leaves and flowers.

Lace was among the most highly prized and expensive of all textiles in the 17th century. From the main centres of production in Italy and Flanders it was traded widely across Europe, and the industry responded quickly to changes in fashionable dress, as different styles came in and out of favour. In the 1660s, Venetian needle lace became the most fashionable lace, dominating the upper end of the market for both men’s and women’s dress.

This collar, or band, as it would have been called in the 17th century, is made of a raised needle lace. This was the most fashionable choice between the 1660s and the 1680s for both men and women, Italian lace-makers emphasizing its three-dimensional qualities. During this period, extravagant displays of lace were increasingly worn as a mark of wealth and status. The showiest effects were achieved with lace at the throat and wrist, setting off the face and hands, but a fashionable man might even have matching lace borders trimming his boot hose, or stockings.

T.20-1949