#4028 $1,900
Handmade Chantilly lace shawl, mid 19th century
This superb Chantilly lace shawl is a work of wearable art. The intricate floral pattern is worked in the finest possible thread, curving to accommodate the shape of the pattern, giving the shawl an ethereal quality not found in coarser machine copies.
The grand scale of the pattern, which displayed beautifully when spread over the enormous hoop skirts of the mid 19th century, is equally beautiful today over a simple evening dress. Whether you wear the shawl or display it in your home, you will be irresistibly drawn to the mystery of fine black lace.
Fine handmade lace needs no other accessories. On a state visit in 1855, the French Empress Eugénie, a paragon of 19th century fashion, dazzled the English court: she was wearing black Chantilly lace instead of jewelry. The French fashion offensive 150 years ago prefigured the equally successful one in March, 2008 by the French President's wife, Carla Sarkozy, French fashion’s secret weapon today.
The condition is excellent.
It measures 106" across and 59" long at the center-back.
