Collar or band of linen with bobbin lace, F, Flanders, 1650-1665

Band (collar) of linen trimmed with bobbin lace. Linen foundation to fit the neck, shaped and decorated with narrow darts, and trimmed with a deep border of finely worked bobbin lace with a dense floral design. Fastening with two worked loops at the neck edge centre front, through which band strings would have been threaded and tied.
The front straight edges are of a technically similar but slightly larger scale bobbin lace, approx 32 mm wide.

The collar was included as part of the contents of an embroidered casket purchased by the museum, T.98-1967.
For further very detailed description see North and Tiramani 2012.

The contemporary name for this type of neckwear would have been a band; the word collar was used in the 17th century for something that was integral to a garment (for example the collar to a doublet).

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.

By the 1630s, Flemish bobbin lace, with its fine draping qualities, dominated the market. The Flemish industry had a skilled work force and produced the finest linen thread. It was proficient at both following and anticipating the market, including the exacting demands of the French nobility, and benefited from its geographical position and contact with trade routes. Most Italian bobbin lace in this period was fairly heavy, used for furnishings, vestments, the trimming of heavy velvet clothes and large collars. By contrast Flemish bobbin lace was light and delicate, made with finer thread, and more open patterns. In the age of cutwork early in the century it had been a cheaper option, but now its elaborate designs and fine threads made the best-quality pieces as expensive as Italian needle lace.

Flemish bobbin lace remained the major fashion lace until the 1660s. It held its position by undergoing a series of changes; from the 1630s onwards, the trade was able to produce whatever lace was applicable to the current fashion. The pot of flowers motif, particularly popular in that decade, was perfectly suited to the deep scallops which decorated falling bands. The size of scallops subsequently diminished, to become a straight edge by the mid 1650s. Wide falling bands were replaced in men’s wear by bib-fronted bands, and for women by deep collars, which displayed perfectly the subtle patterns of Flemish bobbin lace like this example.

Flemish

Lace was among the most highly prized and expensive of all textiles in the 17th century, with its main centres of production in Italy and Flanders. The Flemish industry had a skilled work force and produced the finest linen thread. It was proficient at both following and anticipating the market, including the exacting demands of the French nobility, and benefited from its geographical position and contact with trade routes.

Flemish bobbin lace was the major fashion lace between the 1630s and the 1660s. It held its position by undergoing a series of changes; from the 1630s onwards, the trade was able to produce whatever lace was applicable to the current fashion. The pot of flowers motif, particularly popular in that decade, was perfectly suited to the deep scallops which decorated falling bands. The size of scallops subsequently diminished, to become a straight edge by the mid 1650s. Wide falling bands were replaced in men’s wear by bib-fronted bands, and for women by deep bands (collars) which displayed perfectly the subtle patterns of Flemish bobbin lace, like this example.

T.99-1967