UC-NRLF 
 
 LES POINTS DE FRANCE 
 
GIFT OF 
 
Les Points de France 
 
OF THIS BOOK 
 
 AN EDITION OF 1000 COPIES WAS PRINTED 
 APRIL, MCMXII 
 
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 
 
 1900 - PARIS 
 
 RETROSPECTIVE COLLECTION 
 CLASS 84 ' LACE 
 
 REPORT OF 
 
 MONSIEUR ERNEST LEFfiBURE 
 SECRETAIRE DU CONSEIL DU 
 MUStiE DES ARTS DfiCORATIFS 
 FABRIQUANT DE DENTELLES 
 8 RUE DE CASTIGLIONE, PARIS 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 MARGARET TAYLOR JOHNSTON 
 
 NEW YORK, MCMXII 
 
I. MEDALLION, LE ROI SOLEIL (LOUIS XIV) 
 
 STYLE OP BERAIN. FIRST PERIOD OP THE POINTS DE PRANCE 
 COLLECTION OP MADAME PORGE8 
 
Les Points de France 
 
 BY 
 
 ERNEST LEFEBURE 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 MARGARET TAYLOR JOHNSTON 
 
 NEW YORK : MCMXII 
 

 
 * 
 
 COPYRIGHT APRIL MCMXII 
 
 BY 
 MARGARET TAYLOR JOHNSTON 
 
 Gift 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS i3 
 
 PREFACE By Margaret Taylor Johnston 17 
 
 LES POINTS DE FRANCE By Ernest Lefebure 25 
 
 552790 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 i. MEDALLION, LE ROI SOLEIL (Louis XIV) 8 
 
 Style of Berain. First period of the Points de France 
 Collection of Madame Forges 
 
 II. GUIPURE AND CUTWORK . . . . 22 
 
 Sixteenth century 
 
 Collection of Monsieur I'abbe Bert 
 
 in. MAGASIN DE DENTELLES. LA GALERIE DU 
 
 PALAIS . . . . . . . . . 29 
 
 By Abraham Bosse 
 Bibliotheque Rationale 
 
 iv. PORTRAIT OF COLBERT . . , . . 34 
 
 Bibliotheque nalionale 
 
 v. GUIPURE IN HIGH RELIEF, VENETIAN STYLE 38 
 
 Seventeenth century 
 Collection of Madame Porges 
 
 vi. ALTAR FRONTAL OF GUIPURE IN RELIEF, 
 
 FRAMING THE FIGURE OF SAINTE THERESE ^O 
 
 Seventeenth century 
 Collection of Madame Porges 
 
 vii. POINT DE FRANCE . . . .* . . 44 
 
 Seventeenth century 
 Collection of Monsieur Ikle 
 
C '4 1 
 
 viii. RABAT OF POINT DE FRANCE, WITH FIG- 
 URES, DOLPHINS, AND WARLIKE ATTRI- 
 BUTES 47 
 
 Second half of the seventeenth century 
 Collection of Madame Porges 
 
 ix. BORDER OF POINT DE FRANCE 5o 
 
 Seventeenth century 
 Collection of Madame Porges 
 
 x. FLOUNCE OF BOBBIN-LACE. EAGLES ADOR- 
 ING THE SUN 54 
 
 End of seventeenth century 
 Metropolitan Museum of Art 
 
 XI. DEEP BORDER FOR AN ALB OF POINT DE 
 
 FRANCE 55 
 
 Period of Louis XIV 
 
 Collection of Monsieur I'abbe Bert 
 
 xii. DEEP FLOUNCE OF POINT DE FRANCE . 58 
 
 End of seventeenth century 
 Collection of Madame Lionel Normant 
 
 xiii. DEEP FLOUNCE OF POINT DE FRANCE . 5g 
 
 Early eighteenth century 
 Collection of Madame Doislau 
 
 xiv. RABAT OF BOBBIN-LACE 62 
 
 End of seventeenth century 
 Collection of Madame Doislau 
 
 xv. DEEP FLOUNCE 63 
 
 Period of the Regency 
 
 First half of the eighteenth century 
 
 Metropolitan Museum of Art 
 
xvi. RABAT OF POINT DE FRANCE . ' . . 66 
 
 Period of the Regency 
 
 Collection of Madame Comely. Now at the Musee des 
 Arls decoratifs 
 
 xvii. POINT DE FRANCE 67 
 
 Period of the Regency 
 Collection of Madame Porges 
 
 xvni. RABAT OF BOBBIN-LACE. DESIGN OF PEA- 
 COCKS AND PAGODAS 70 
 
 Period of Louis XV 
 Collection of Madame Doistau 
 
 xix. RERTHA, NEEDLE-POINT. DESIGN OF 
 HUNTSMEN AND OTHER MOTIVES IN THE 
 STYLE OF DRESDEN CHINA . . . . 71 
 
 Period of Louis XV 
 
 Collection of Madame la comtesse Foy 
 
 xx. FLOUNCE OF POINT D'ARGENTAN . . 76 
 
 Style of Louis XV 
 
 Middle of the eighteenth century 
 
 Musee des Arts decoratifs 
 
 xxi. FLOUNCE OF POINT D'ARGENTAN . . 77 
 
 Style of Louis XVI 
 
 Latter half of -the eighteenth century 
 
 Musee de la Chambre de Commerce de Lyon 
 
 xxii. STOMACHER 82 
 
 First Empire 
 
 Collection of Madame Porges 
 
 xxin. SCARF 84 
 
 Period of the Directory 
 
 After a photograph in the Musee des Arts decoratifs 
 
prf /> * 
 
 L-> <J 
 
 xxiv. BEDSPREAD FROM LA MALMAISON . . 87 
 
 From a photograph in the Library of the Masee des Arts 
 decoratifs 
 
 xxv. FROM AN ENGRAVING IN THE MUSEE 
 
 CARNAVALET ..'-.' . . . . . . 89 
 
 xxvi. ADDRESS OF A LACE-MERCHANT . . 91 
 
 Period of Louis XVI 
 
 xxvu. QUEEN MARIE-AMELIE . . . . 96 
 
 Painting by Winterhaller 
 Masee de Versailles 
 
 xxvin. BOOK-COVER IN POINT COLBERT AND 
 
 POINT D'ARGENTAN . ... . 99 
 
 Nineteenth Century 
 Library of the Vatican 
 
 xxix. WINDERS FOR LACE ..... 100 
 
 Musee du Trocadero 
 
Preface 
 
 BY THE TRANSLATOR 
 
 _N important part of the artistic life of Paris consists 
 of the loan collections which, from time to time, bring into 
 view the private treasures of the nation, and interesting 
 indeed is the company of connoisseurs who assemble for the 
 Private View. 
 
 The exhibition 0/1900 thus brought together many of 
 the more important French laces, and notably the Points 
 de France of the period of Louis XIV, marvels of work and 
 design, created at the command of the King and of his great 
 minister Colbert, from Venetian tradition and inspiration. 
 
 An interesting brochure by Monsieur Ernest Lefebure 
 was written at that lime for private distribution, to explain 
 the origin of these beautiful laces. It is much to be regretted 
 that this booklet is now entirely out of print, for it gives a 
 simple and conseculive account of the great period of lace- 
 making in France, and of the evolution of a new and char- 
 acteristic French style from the earlier Venice Points , on 
 lines adapted to lace by leading artists of the day Le- 
 brun, Berain, Bailly, Bonnemer. The large number of 
 illustrations, correctly named as to both kind and period, 
 makes this pamphlet a little gallery of art, which should 
 
reach many who may never have the rare chance and 
 pleasure of being in Paris daring the few weeks when a 
 loan collection is on exhibition. An even more extensive 
 collection of laces was shown in 1906 at the Musee des 
 Arts decoratifs, a museum that owns several very beautiful 
 Points de France. 
 
 It therefore seems a valuable contribution to the litera- 
 ture of lace, to translate some few of these interesting pages 
 for an American public, which already has a number of 
 specimens at hand in our own Metropolitan Museum of 
 Art in New York. A very few years ago, these Points de 
 France were as entirely beyond our reach as the Memtings 
 or Botlicellis of European galleries; but generous gifts 
 and bequests have started an historic sequence, which the 
 future will certainly complete. 
 
 MARGARET TAYLOR JOHNSTON 
 
 New York Paris, 1912. 
 
Chapter I 
 
II. GUIPURE AND CUTWORK 
 
 SIXTEENTH CENTURY 
 COLLECTION OP MONSIEUR L'ABBE BERT 
 
Les Points de France 
 
 HAND-MADE LACE 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Lace before the time of Colbert 
 
 TH 
 
 E Retrospective Exhibition held in Paris in 
 1900, included in its broad program all branches of 
 human activity. Such a colossal task could with dif- 
 ficulty be wholly successful in the precipitate haste 
 which reigns during the installation of an Interna- 
 tional Exhibition. Much effort is required to attract to 
 these great international fairs the commercial manu- 
 factures of the day, but still greater effort is required 
 to obtain specimens of ancient date, jealously guard- 
 ed by collectors, who often will not part with them 
 at any price, nor will they lend them without much 
 
[ 34 ] 
 
 solicitation, always fearing loss and injury. On this 
 occasion, many contributors were notified too late, 
 or had not understood that the Retrospective Centen- 
 nial Exhibition was not limited to the products of the 
 nineteenth century. Under these conditions, a number 
 of collectors did not assist in perfecting the Exhibi- 
 tion, as they might have done under more favorable 
 circumstances. Many sections and notably that of 
 Lace showed blank spaces which prevented the 
 public from obtaining a complete understanding of 
 these industries from their origin to the present day. 
 This is the more to be regretted, as specimens of 
 the comparatively recent art of lace might have been 
 brought together far more easily than examples of 
 other arts the past of which must be sought in the 
 dusk of ages. 
 
 We seek therefore to fill some of these blank pages. 
 
 Lace does not seem to have attained to the im- 
 portance of an industry before the fifteenth century. 
 Those who have written upon this subject since 
 Mrs. Bury-Palliser, the first author who went into it 
 seriously, have found no trace of lace in pictures or 
 in sculpture antedating this period. Scant use would 
 there have been for lace in those days, when linen 
 was both rare and coarse. It is said that Charles the 
 Simple, who died in 929 A.D., possessed but three 
 shirts! And when Isabeau de Baviere in i385 A. D., 
 
coming to marry King Charles VI, brought three 
 dozen chemises in her trousseau, at the court of 
 France this was thought an extraordinary degree of 
 luxury. 
 
 It is through fine embroidered linen that lace 
 stitches first came into use. The returning Crusaders 
 brought with them many things which initiated the 
 French nobility into the luxury of the Orient. And 
 when Francis I returned from his expedition to Italy, 
 where, said he, "All is lost save Honor" (tout fors 
 Fhonneur), he had acquired a taste for the beautiful 
 linen-works and rich trimmings, the fashion of which 
 was beginning to spread in the opulent provinces 
 of Genoa, Florence, and Venice, where princes and 
 artists were ardently encouraging the Renaissance of 
 all the arts. 
 
 The fine linen embroideries in openwork, drawn- 
 work, and cutwork, finished with round or pointed 
 edges, first showed the need of lace. Such words as 
 lace, needle, point, bobbins, have undoubtedly an Ital- 
 ian sound. 1 
 
 1 This is said of the French rather than of the English words. 
 Lace (Hal: trina, merli- Fr : dentelle) Point (Punto-le point) 
 Needle (Ago or aco- aiguille) Bobbins (fusselli-fuseaux) 
 
 Modern criticism attributes increasingly to Italy the origin of the beautiful 
 linen-works which led up to needle-point lace. These were being slowly 
 evolved for a century or more, before the great cinque cento (sixteenth cen- 
 tury), when the perfecting of the manufacture of needles and theprintingof 
 the Pattern Books caused these embroideries to spread rapidly throughout 
 Europe, where they became the work of all classes of society. 
 
c 26 : 
 
 From its first appearance lace was used as extensive- 
 ly at the Court of France, as at the Courts of Germany, 
 England, and Spain, then dominant in Flanders. It 
 also seems to have been worked everywhere with the 
 needle, or bobbins, at about the same period, but 
 through local influences brought to bear upon the 
 workers, important centers of production were estab- 
 lished, which surpassed all other places. Many de- 
 signs were obtained from Italian artists who, in com- 
 petition with each other, produced the Pattern Books 
 (recueils de dessins) now so rare, the best known of 
 which is called Les singuliers et nouveaux pourctraits 
 et ouvrages de lingerie . . . dedies a la Royne, par le 
 signor Vinciolo. 1 
 
 In France, where all industry was controlled by cor- 
 porations, or guilds, it was the makers of passements 
 
 1 An incomplete list of those books is to be found in Mrs. Bury-Palliser's 
 HISTORY OF LACE, and in BROIDERIES ET DENTELLES by M. E. Lefebure. 
 
 Frederic Vinciolo, " Venitien," as he styles himself, left Venice for Paris, 
 and drew designs for the queens and great dames of France, in the late six- 
 teenth and early seventeenth centuries. His book (divided into two parts 
 filet brode, and point coupe, or poinct de couppe in the sixteenth century 
 spelling) passed through many editions, and through his many plagiarists 
 in Germany and England he influenced the entire production of the North, 
 while Franco, Vecellio, Parasole, Passerotti, and many other artists and de- 
 signers drew for the workers of the South. 
 
 Vinciolo classes many kinds of work under the single name of cutwork 
 (point coupe), making no attempt to translate the Italian term reticello 
 narrow lines of geometric openwork, and the rosaces of increasing size and 
 importance which attained to their most extravagant development in the 
 ruffs of Marie de Medici and Queen Elizabeth. Note by the Translator. 
 
C 27 H 
 
 (passemeiitiers) who had the monopoly of the new 
 production, and the first laces were therefore called 
 passements. 
 
 We will not treat in detail the history of lace under 
 the Valois. Its deep pointed edges were seen border- 
 ing the ruffs (fraises) which framed the heads of the 
 noble dames and courtiers . In the early days of the art, 
 few and rare were the pictures and portraits which 
 showed on the raiment a decoration at all resembling 
 lace ; but from the time of Francis I, it was everywhere, 
 and we find numerous and interesting examples of the 
 succeeding styles. During the reigns of Henry II 
 (iS^v), Francis II(i559), Charles IX (i56o), and Henry 
 III (1674), the Queens Catherine de Medici and Mary 
 Stuart left abundant evidence of their love for lace. 
 They introduced the squares of embroidered net and 
 guipure, with cut work squares worked into the linen, 
 which since that time have been so much used for 
 household furnishings. Henry IV, a jovial prince, 
 would also have patronized the lace-making art, but 
 he was restrained by his Minister Sully, who with Hu- 
 guenot austerity said to him, " What you need are 
 iron and soldiers, rather than silks and laces for de- 
 corating your gallants." Under Louis XIII, luxury 
 knew no bounds, in spite of the numerous edicts for 
 the restriction of extravagance. We are reminded that 
 Cinq Mars had three hundred sets of collars and cuffs 
 of lace, when he was arrested by Richelieu. 
 
C 28 ] 
 
 The fashion for the plaited collars worn under the 
 Valois, changed to that of large flat collars, show- 
 ing well the design of the lace, which was also used 
 for the cuffs, and even for the boots. Very accurate 
 information as to the laces worn at this period is to 
 be found in the interesting engravings of Abraham 
 Bosse; they show the costumes, and even the shops 
 with their wares displayed. 
 
 It is under Louis XIV, and his great minister Col- 
 bert, however, that we find the highest achievement 
 in lace-making in France. It is here that we willingly 
 pause in our story, for examples of the most beautiful 
 needle-points of this period were shown at the Retro- 
 spective Exhibition of igoo. 1 
 
 1 A copy of the French pamphlet has been given by the author to the 
 Library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
 
 Part II, Machine-lace, is omitted in this translation. A few of the illus- 
 trations of Part I in the original booklet not being available, these have 
 been replaced by the enlarged size of others, and by three laces from the 
 collection of the Metropolitan Museum. Note by the Translator, 
 
III. MAGASIN DE DENTELLES. LA GALERIE DU PALAIS 
 
 BY ABRAHAM BOSSE 
 BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALS 
 
Chapter II 
 
x '' ' ^ } arif t Ic, 3i Cfifut jtf^d.jfftfrt ho. Sept- 1683 
 
 ^l '.(/li.rt. ni+,iilnfau Luiermert P.CcirJitre iait 
 
 IV. PORTRAIT OF COLBERT 
 BIBLIOTHEQUK NATIONALS 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Lace from the time of Colbert to the Revolution 
 
 HEN Colbert founded the Royal Manufactor- 
 ies, his intention was that they should excel in those 
 branches where French supremacy was the least as- 
 sured. Porcelains, mirrors, and furniture received 
 his most earnest attention, and even greater thought 
 was expended upon lace and tapestry. 
 
 Investigation into the subject of the lace-making 
 art showed that the industry already existed in several 
 provinces of France, but that very inferior work was 
 produced. Colbert found that in the great luxury at 
 the Court of Versailles, the costly rabats of Venice 
 Point, worn by the most fastidious of the courtiers, 
 were brought at great expense from Italy. His efforts 
 were therefore directed to perfecting the manufacture 
 by furnishing the necessary means for learning to 
 make as good needle-point lace as that of Venice. His 
 correspondence with Monsignore de Bonzy, the royal 
 ambassador to the Venetian Republic, gives every de- 
 tail of this enterprise. 
 
 In Paris, the first manufactory was established in 
 the Hotel de Reaufort. Rut it was at Alengon and Ar- 
 
C 36 3 
 
 gentan that the industry was most firmly implanted, 
 and threw out roots strong enough to survive until 
 the present day, although after the death of Colbert, 
 it lacked the powerful protection which had guarded 
 its early years. 
 
 The first laces were made under the direction of lace- 
 makers brought from Venice, and were worked in ex- 
 actly the same way as those produced in the city of the 
 Doges. Colbert was so well pleased that he wrote to 
 his ambassador, ' ' I can now say that collars worked 
 in relief are produced in this realm, which are as beau- 
 tiful as those of Venice." l This explains the hesita- 
 tion of connoisseurs in attributing to Venice, or to our 
 French manufacture, the few rare and beautiful speci- 
 mens of this period still extant, such as the splendid 
 rabat at the Musee de Cluny. 
 
 We must here note that in the sixteenth, seven- 
 teenth, and eighteenth centuries, men wore as much 
 lace as women, and were as much interested in the 
 quality of the work as were the great dames themselves. 
 It is to this two-fold interest, no longer existing, that 
 lace owed its high standard of perfection, from the time 
 of Colbert to the Revolution. The century between 
 
 1 The Colbert correspondence with reference to the Points de France was 
 first published in the third edition of Mrs. Bury-Palliser's HISTORY OF LACE, 
 1876 followed by Seguin, E. Lefebure,and Madame deLaprade, LE POINCT 
 DE FRANCE, all adding their quota of knowledge through the study of the 
 documents, as well as the laces, of this great epoch in the art of lace in 
 France. Note by the Translator. 
 
-J -.3 
 
1 665 and 1780 can be called the Golden Age of lace, 
 and nothing has surpassed the production of this 
 wonderful period. 
 
 The Retrospective Exhibition showed an altar 
 frontal, in the collection of Madame Porges, which 
 gives a clear idea of the laces resembling the rich 
 Venice Points, but worked in France at the time of 
 Colbert. The figure of Sainte Therese clasping a cru- 
 cifix is in the center, framed by a design of flowered 
 scrolls in relief. 
 
 The same collection has another piece of similar 
 work, but earlier in date. The flowers are certainly 
 drawn under Venetian influence, but they are sur- 
 rounded by a rich foliage which recalls the beautiful 
 velvet coverings for furniture made during the reign 
 of le Grand Roi. 
 
 A few designs during the eighteenth century still 
 followed the Italian tradition, and it is to this period 
 that the square collar (col a plastron) of the Doistau 
 Collection can be attributed, in w T hich the branching 
 scrolls are entwined with a crown. But the artists of 
 the Louvre, charged with the task of designing for the 
 Royal Manufactories, soon freed themselves from all 
 foreign influence, and created those exquisite laces, 
 so truly named by the King himself, ' * Les Points de 
 France." 
 
 Another beautiful fragment of this period was shown 
 in the Porges Collection, only a part, perchance, of a 
 
c: 4 2 : 
 
 more important whole, 1 but as it now exists, form- 
 ing a motive complete in itself. (Frontispiece.) In 
 the center is enthroned The Royal Sun (Le roi soleil, 
 Louis XIV), surmounted by a sort of dai's, and flanked 
 on either side by trophies formed of crossed swords 
 and standards. Never was better use made of the com- 
 bined artistic resources of needle-point lace ! From 
 a grounding of grands reseaux picotes, 2 an ideal 
 architecture detaches itself, forming a charming frame 
 
 1 A deep flounce of this design, five or six meters in length, from the col- 
 lection of Madame Rigaud is, at the moment of writing, on exhibition at 
 the Lyceum Club of Paris, in a small loan collection of laces, fans, and mini- 
 atures, brought together by the President of the Club, the Duchesse d'Uzes 
 douairiere. 
 
 The motive of the Royal Sun is seven times repeated, with the arms and 
 the ideal architecture; accentuations of relief in the deep pointed border 
 appear to weigh down the folds of lace. Nothing more charming could be 
 imagined! The artists of the Louvre, to whom was confided the task of 
 creating the new style of the Points de France, adapted the massive archi- 
 tectural lines of the period of Louis XIV, to the delicate technique in which 
 they were to be reproduced, a lighter effect also found in many of the Vene- 
 tian laces of the end of the century. But men of lesser ability in the early 
 eighteenth century often lost this perfect sense of the proportion of design 
 and grounding. Note by the Translator. 
 
 2 The grande bride picote"e grounding of the Points de France, is an hex- 
 agonal mesh buttonholed on each side, further enriched with one or two 
 picots or knots. This is an extension of the earlier single bride that united 
 the various parts of the design , when it was not self-supporting, and explains 
 the use of the term dentelles a fond de brides, which we so often find applied 
 to these laces of Venice and France, of the central or barocco period, suc- 
 ceeding that of geometric or conventional design, and preceding the use of 
 many groundings in the eighteenth century laces. Note by the Translator. 
 
Sg 
 g a 
 
 H 02 
 " O 
 
 H 2 
 <c S 
 
 K u 
 
 5 
 
 H 
 
c 45 ] 
 
 for the triumphant emblem of the Sun, which is made 
 more effective by its surroundings. The lines are 
 formal but light ; a delicate embroidery in relief, used 
 with consummate art, accentuates the important parts, 
 and gives to the whole a feeling of distinction which 
 has never been surpassed. 
 
 The fact cannot be contested that these Points de 
 France of the great epoch of the Royal Manufactories, 
 are, from the point of view of artistic composition, 
 infinitely superior to the whole production of Venice, 
 which is restricted to an ever-recurring arrangement 
 of scrolls more or less elaborately worked. 
 
 The marriage of the grandson of Louis XIV, the 
 young Duke of Bourgogne, to the Princess Marie- 
 Adelaide of Savoy, was the union of two children, the 
 duke being fourteen, and his betrothed but eleven 
 years of age. The Points de France made for this oc- 
 casion are represented by a charming little piece in 
 the Ikle Collection . It is a square which may have been 
 used for a jabot. The work is similar, and the design 
 has the same characteristics as the preceding one, but 
 already there is less distinction and precision in the 
 style ; the composition is more mannered, although it 
 retains its former elegance. A princess, sitting under 
 a dai's in the center, seems to be playing on a harp- 
 sichord or organ. A little prince behind her is sing- 
 ing, perchance, as beautifully as the bird on the other 
 side; two figures higher up play on other instruments 
 
c: *6 : 
 
 the courtier on the violin, and the lady in front 
 on a little lyre or harp; below another lady and gentle- 
 man sing, each holding a piece of music, and two 
 musicians play the violoncello and the castanets, while 
 a child kneeling offers flowers. All is gay and spark- 
 ling, and in proportions which suit admirably the piece 
 of lace. 
 
 The specimen of similar shape in the Forges Collec- 
 tion is even more remarkable. In the center stands 
 a young man, dressed as a warrior of ancient days ; 
 the helmet, with a double-headed eagle, 1 is surmount- 
 ed by the closed crown of a royal prince, supported 
 by two cherubs ; higher still a little Bacchus is astride 
 a cask. On the right and left are dolphins (dauphins), 
 side by side, which emblem clearly indicates that the 
 design is meant for the heir to the throne. Two child- 
 ren, like the one mentioned in the preceding piece, 
 kneeling offer gifts. Genii float in the delicate foliage, 
 bringing palms and crowns. These are destined 
 for the two young warriors with helmets, standing 
 lower than the more important figure, who walks tri- 
 umphant over a mass of arms and standards ! This 
 is evidently the Dauphin, son of Louis XIV, here re- 
 presented in triumph with his two sons, the Duke of 
 
 This figure with the double-headed eagle is seen in the Oeuvres com- 
 pletes of Berain in the Library of the Musee des Arts decoratifs, Paris. Note 
 by the Translator. 
 
IX. BORDER OP POINT DE FRANCE 
 
 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 
 COLLECTION OF MADAME FORGES 
 
C 5i ] 
 
 Bourgogne and the Duke of Anjou, dressed as young 
 warriors. 
 
 From the same collection, the long piece of lace cut 
 away at either end, must have been intended for a 
 dressing-table. It is a fine specimen of the reign of 
 Louis XIV. Again we find the dolphins, and as a cen- 
 tral motive, several^ times repeated, a lady leaning on 
 a long cane and fanning herself. Other figures, some 
 half-length, some standing, carry baskets of fruit, and 
 together with dogs and birds, move about in a back- 
 ground of flowers full of charm and poetry. 
 
 Three more splendid Points de France, of similar 
 style and technique, were shown in the Retrospective 
 Exhibition. In size they far surpass those which have 
 been described, as they are deep flounces measuring 
 more than 60 centimeters in depth, with a length of 
 3 meters, 3o centimeters. These laces served as trim- 
 ming for the rochets and albs of the prelates, the coun- 
 terparts of which are seen in the portraits of Bossuet, 
 Fenelon, and other bishops, painted by Hyacinthe 
 Rigaud and Nattier. These deep flounces have not the 
 figures and emblems of the laces intended for the use of 
 the Princes of the Blood Royal. 
 
 The specimen belonging to the Abbe Bert is cer- 
 tainly designed in the same style as the beautiful me- 
 dallion of the Sun in the Porges Collection, with its 
 vases of flowers surmounted by a canopy of garlands. 
 
 The rochet lent by Madame Lionel Normant is of a 
 
C 5, ] 
 
 later date. Above are flaming hearts. The design is 
 conceived in the same spirit as the beautiful mar- 
 quetry of Andre Boulle, the ebonist of le Grand Roi. 
 
 The deep flounce in the Doistau Collection, though 
 worked in the same manner as the preceding one, is 
 of an inferior period. How different the design! It is 
 true that one finds motives analogous to those of the 
 Points de France which we have been studying, but 
 the composition is heavier, and it has lost that perfect 
 elegance of the earlier laces, replacing it with the ro- 
 caille arrangement of a more questionable taste. 
 
 It is now the period of the Regency, in the begin- 
 ning of the reign of Louis XV. The same heaviness of 
 design is still more marked in the rabat of Point de 
 France in the Cornely Collection 1 ; whereas the flounce 
 worked with bobbins, belonging to the Musee des Arts 
 decoratifs, retains the lightness and the distinction of 
 the period of Louis XV. To this heavy style can be at- 
 tributed the specimen in the Porges Collection, and 
 also two others with an entirely different grounding of 
 openwork. 
 
 We come next to the style of the Rococo, when the 
 influence of Queen Marie Leczinska is felt, Chinese 
 motives being dominant in many designs. Madame 
 
 1 Now in the Musee des Arts decoratifs. It is there called Point dc Sedan, 
 on account of the occasional accentuations of relief, believed to be charac- 
 teristic of that city, to which are also attributed the bas de rochets of large 
 flowered designs, with the grande bride picotee grounding of the Point de 
 France. Note by the Translator. 
 
" 
 
 H W 
 
 52; QQ 
 
 H [ 
 O 
 
 o o 
 
 
 Q H 
 
<3 
 
 3 
 
 o> 
 
 PS M < 
 
 o 2 
 
 pq u p 
 5 Q S 
 
 O _, 
 fc 
 
w 
 
 ta 
 
 > 
 
 hH CQ 
 
 n 
 A, 
 
 O O 
 
 o 
 

 
 ffiittll *$&mj$i 
 
 tt*'WW?W5T^v^. *%"%? *i?EWri 
 
 
OQ 
 
 h 
 
 H 
 H 
 
 M 
 
 o 
 
 S-B 
 
 . ft 
 
 W OQ 
 O H 
 - 
 
 M OC 
 
 w 
 
 Q P 
 
 o a 
 
 H 
 
 - - 
 
 H W 
 
 (H H 
 
 . H 
 
 W < 
 
 < O 
 tf 
 
g'S 
 

 
 
 3T5C-J 
 
L 73 1 
 
 Doistau and Madame la comtesse Foy lent two pieces 
 of lace of this style, which, though of Flemish origin, 
 were still shown in the Retrospective Exhibition. The 
 first is a square rahat worked with bobbins, in which 
 are pagodas surrounded by peacocks perched on flow- 
 ering plants, the foliage resembling the leaves of palm- 
 trees. In the second we find to how great an extent old 
 Dresden china is still in style. The designs of lace thus 
 inspired have little kiosks and miniature landscapes 
 with rocks and rivers, and dogs and huntsmen pursue 
 the small deer. A similar influence is felt in the bertha 
 so delicately executed in needle-point stitches. 
 
 Queen Marie Antoinette, in the beginning of her 
 reign, gave a special impetus to the production of lace. 
 She liked flowers, the tulip and the pink, but above all 
 others she loved the rose, which is everywhere seen 
 in garlands entwined with ribbons. The Retrospect- 
 ive Exhibition showed a fine specimen of these laces 
 in the deep flounce of Point d'Argentan, lent by Ma- 
 dame Verde-Delisle. The lace of this period has often 
 been reproduced, but the copies have lacked the special 
 grace of this authentic specimen of a style the most 
 charmingly feminine which has ever been produced. 
 
 The French laces, we thus find, were much es- 
 teemed ; as proof of this can be cited an unpublished 
 document in the library of the learned Courajod, who 
 died some years ago. It is a report on the commerce 
 of France with foreign countries in the year 1778. 
 
I 7* H 
 
 (Archives of M. F. Carnot.) The importations of lace 
 into France amounted to the sum of [\ 88,470 livres, 
 the greater part of which, 899,600 livres, came from 
 Flanders. The exportations reached a total of 8,7 82,- 
 108 livres, the greater number of which, 1,176,586 
 livres, went to England. 
 
 The laces exported were point-lace from Alengon 
 and Argentan (which cities laid claim to working the 
 Royal Point : ), Valenciennes, Chantilly, both white 
 and black, Point de Paris, guipures, and thread lace 
 from Le Puy , where also laces of gold and silver thread 
 were made. The exports from Le Puy were packed 
 in cases of four or six boxes, each box containing one 
 hundred pieces of the length of twelve aunes, assorted 
 according to the demand, and ranging in price from 
 800 to 1 200 livres. A great number of cases were 
 shipped at Havre and at Cadiz for the Spanish West 
 Indies. Many capes and lappets for head-dresses were 
 included in these sales. 
 
 The Retrospective Exhibition showed many small 
 pieces of lace, barbes, or backs of caps, of the period 
 of Louis XVI. 
 
 1 Madame Despierres, in LE POINT o'ALENgoN, says that the name Point 
 de France should be used only for the laces produced during the ten years 
 of the Royal Monopoly, 1665-1675 A.D., but we find it in many of the in- 
 teresting documents which she cites far on into the middle of the next cent- 
 ury. Many more documents have been recently published in LE POIISCT DE 
 FRANCE, by Madame de Laprade. Note by the Translator. 
 
H 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 h 
 O 
 
 W 
 
 fi GO 
 
 Q fe 
 
 K W 
 .-5 Q 
 
p fc 
 
 O >< O 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 O g W 
 
 w w 
 
 w ^ 
 
 H g 
 
 53 
 
 g 
 
 w w 
 
 O y 
 
 o w h 
 
 2 s 
 
 ^ S 
 
 ft EH 
 
 O ft 
 
C 79 ] 
 
 At the approach of the Revolution, this prosperous 
 industry ceased. During the last years of her life, dis- 
 quieted by the menacing nature of the passing events, 
 Marie Antoinette wore none but the simplest raiment 
 dotted muslins linen trimmed with lace, covered 
 with dots and flowers, and finished with a narrow 
 border. As the shadows darkened, both the linen and 
 the dresses of the Queen were trimmed with marly, 
 a narrow edging covered with dots or point d'esprit, 
 and edged with a narrow feskfh. 
 
Chapter III 
 
XXII. STOMACHER. FIRST EMPIRE 
 COLLECTION OF MADAME FORGES 
 
H m 
 H 
 
 52 
 
 Q 00 
 
 H W 
 
 O p 
 
 Q * 
 
 O M 
 
 W 
 
 W ^ 
 
 fc ^ 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Lace from the Revolution to oar own day 
 
 A 
 
 FTER the Revolution came the Directory, when 
 David's influence was supreme in the world of art, and 
 his style, which drew its inspiration from Roman art, 
 is also found in the designs of lace. The stiffness and 
 dryness of the lines imitate the antique in a preten- 
 tious manner, which is wholly lacking in freedom. 
 
 Under the Empire, we find at first laces having only 
 a light seme (powder) of dots and leaves. The rose- 
 leaf and the tulip are now replaced by leaves of olive 
 and laurel, and soon the Imperial bee 1 replaces the 
 fleur-de-lis. Nobles of recent date and the Noblesse 
 de F Epee deck themselves with their escutcheons at 
 the fetes given by Napoleon I. This we find in the two 
 stomachers lent by Madame Forges. The Imperial 
 Court strives to reproduce the luxurious effect of its 
 most brilliant period ; everywhere are garlands and 
 draperies drawn together with cords and tassels en- 
 twined with flowers, which show their date. Branches 
 of oak and laurel, allied to the rose of La Malmaison, 
 
 1 The bee of Napoleon is laid flat upon the grounding, whereas the form 
 seen in the late eighteenth century is in profile. Note by the Translator. 
 
C 86 ] 
 
 distinguish the laces destined for the wives of the 
 dignitaries of the new chivalry the Legion of 
 Honor. 
 
 A very beautiful flounce in the collection of Madame 
 Casimir-Perier was one of the most admired laces at 
 the Retrospective Exhibition, for richness of design 
 and the admirable quality of work. 
 
 Under the Restoration, they sought to revive the 
 traditions of Marie Antoinette, but through the years 
 of the Revolution, and of the Empire, that special note 
 of elegance which characterized the period of Louis 
 XVI had been lost. The laces of the Restoration have 
 a large seme of even motives, with flowered borders, 
 wholly lacking in freedom or charm of line. The 
 fleurs-de-lis are more rounded, and the roses, no 
 longer studied from nature, seem stiff and heavy com- 
 pared to those of the preceding century. 
 
 A curious engraving of this time (Musee Carnavalet) 
 is a prospectus of the Fabrique de Chantilly, Oise, In- 
 dustrie frangaise (sic), which shows that dresses of 
 blonde were then made, trimmed with three flounces, 
 and also caps, scarfs, and lappets, as worn by the seated 
 lady in the accompanying illustration. In the back- 
 ground there is also a shawl, with a bunch of flowers 
 in the center and a border of roses, folded in such a 
 way as to fall in double rows, as was the custom of the 
 time. The wide gulf which separates the taste of the 
 period of Louis XVI from that of the Restoration is 
 
XXIV. BEDSPREAD FROM LA MALMAI8ON 
 
 FROM A PHOTOGRAPH 
 IN THE LIBRARY OF THE MUSEE DBS ARTS DECORATIFS 
 
XXV. FROM AN ENGRAVING IN THE MUSEE CARNAVALET 
 
XXVI. ADDRESS OP A LACE-MERCHANT 
 PERIOD OF LOUIS XVI 
 
C 03 3 
 
 very marked when we compare the prospectus just 
 described with that of Langlume Jeune, dealer in laces 
 at Bordeaux, framed with a charming design of the 
 period of Louis XVI. 
 
 Under Louis-Philippe laces were much in vogue, 
 but the designs of this period can hardly be cited as 
 models of style. India shawls also were in high esteem, 
 and a bride would have thought herself neglected, 
 were not two or three in her marriage chest. The 
 scarfs and rows of flounces then in fashion, can be seen 
 in the picture of Queen Marie Amelie in the Musee de 
 Versailles, but they lack character, and the bunches 
 of flowers in the design, badly arranged and very con- 
 ventional, often resemble the palms of the cashmere 
 shawls. 
 
 Under the Second Empire, there was a large con- 
 sumption of lace. It was the time when, according to 
 Felix Aubry (Report on the International Exhibition 
 in London, i85i), hand-made lace in France gave 
 work to 2^0,000 women. 
 
 Very beautiful were the wedding dresses of the Em- 
 press Eugenie, trimmed with deep flounces of Point 
 d'Alengon. The city of Paris offered a cradle for the 
 baptism of the Prince Imperial, the rich trimmings and 
 curtains of which were of lace worked with a seme of 
 bees, the Imperial crown filling each corner. 
 
 The International Exhibitions of i855 and 1867 m 
 Paris were eras of great prosperity for hand-made lace. 
 
C 94 ] 
 
 France exported to all countries, supplying Havana 
 and the whole of Spanish America with mantillas of 
 the blonde of Caen, and of Bayeux. Large pieces of 
 lace were then made court trains, skirts, and shawls 
 in deep points. One of the latter, made of black lace, 
 was shown at the Retrospective Exhibition, after re- 
 ceiving a medal at the Exhibition of 1867. The design 
 has bunches of roses, the leaves being shaded in work- 
 ing by the different thickness of the threads employed 
 a novelty at that time, but one which has since 
 been used for all kinds of lace. 
 
 But these commercial successes of hand-made lace 
 were followed by a crisis which can be attributed to 
 many causes: the war of 1870, the lessening of ex- 
 portations, the increase of tailor-made costumes and 
 sporting attire in the gay world all of which im- 
 pediments have much lessened the consumption of 
 lace. A large number of lace- workers were obliged 
 to leave a trade which no longer assured them a cer- 
 tain means of earning their daily bread. 
 
 These troublous times, far from diminishing the 
 artistic value of hand-made lace, conduced to more 
 energetic efforts on the part of manufacturers to re- 
 tain for their industry an acknowledged pre-eminence. 
 Never before has so much effort been made to dis- 
 cover the construction of ancient stitches, the tradi- 
 tion of which was lost. In France, Belgium, and Aus- 
 tria, much effort has been devoted to renewing the 
 
XXVII. QUEEN MARIE-AMELIE 
 
 PAINTING BY WINTERHALTEB 
 
 MU8EE DE VERBAILLE8 
 
C 97 ] 
 
 designs, and finding fresh decorative effects, in which 
 the utmost advantage could be taken of the technical 
 resources, thus establishing the making of hand-made 
 lace as an art-industry, worthy of appearing in Muse- 
 ums, and in the Annual Exhibitions. 1 In this respect, 
 considerable progress has been made in the whole 
 production of lace, since the beginning of the nine- 
 teenth century, a progress which foreshadows a fur- 
 ther renaissance of this beautiful industry. 
 
 A curious instance of these tentative efforts is the 
 book-cover for the text, in Norman dialect, of the 
 Bull of the Immaculate Conception, in the Library of 
 the Vatican. It is ornamented with the escutcheons 
 of the Archbishop of Rouen, and of his suffragans, 
 the Bishops of Bayeux, Evreux, Seez, and Coutances, 
 who had it executed at Bayeux. The arms of the city 
 of Rouen are worked in relief in the center, on a 
 grounding of Point d'Argentan, while the other four 
 in the angles of the frame are of Point de Colbert. 
 
 To recapitulate however incomplete this part of 
 the Retrospective Exhibition, it nevertheless showed 
 an ensemble of sufficient importance to reaffirm the 
 high position occupied by the laces of France. It was 
 important to show how, through its artistic traditions, 
 and the delicacy and perfection of the work, lace can 
 aspire to a high place in those Courts of Art and In- 
 
 1 The remarkable revival of embroidery and lace in Italy coincides with 
 that of the northern countries. Note by the Translator. 
 
C 98 1 
 
 dustry where, by order of merit, are classed all the 
 products of human activity. 
 
 We cannot leave this subject without expressing our 
 thanks to the collectors who have allowed us to re- 
 produce the specimens which they lent to the Exhibi- 
 tion; without these illustrations, our text would lose 
 its chief interest. 
 
V ':; fck^'wSi 
 
 ; "i 
 P 
 
 *.0 
 
 aa 
 
 r -*" w * 
 
 ^':*S 
 
 I r w *' j i^A '/.%v.,' .w'\^- v -v :>*> iw v, /-^ i m - ', \ 
 
 l-^sfl'S! ^^^, ?&&*( i!3$$i&. I 
 
 >-si^^^|- ; -" : " 
 "fSS'sMI'Sii 
 
 XXVIII. BOOK-COVER IN POINT COLBERT 
 
 AND POINT D'ARGENTAN. NINETEENTH CENTURY 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE VATICAN 
 
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, AUVERGNE 
 
 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, AUVERGNE 
 
 XXIX. WINDERS FOR LACE. MUSEE DU TROCADERO 
 
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 
 
 OF 1900 
 French Section 
 
 General Commissioner of the Exhibition 
 M. ALFRED PICARD 
 
 Assistant Director-General of the Exhibition 
 in charge of the French Section 
 
 M. STEPHANE DERV1LLE 
 
 Deputy in charge of the French Section 
 M. ALBERT BLONDEL 
 
 Deputy in special charge of the Centennial Collections 
 M. FRANCOIS CARNOT 
 
 Architect of the Centennial Collections 
 M, JACQUES HERMAN! 
 
COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENT 
 FOR THE GLASS 84 
 
 OFFICERS 
 
 President: M. ANCELOT (Alfred) O. $, Former President of the 
 General Association of the Commerce and Industry of Weav- 
 ing, and of Textile Fabrics. Member of the Chamber of 
 Commerce of Paris, and of the Permanent Commission of 
 Custom Valuations. 
 
 Vice-President: M. HENON (Henri) $, President of the Syndical 
 Chamber of the Manufacturers of Tulles and Laces. Treas- 
 urer of the Chamber of Commerce of Calais. Member of the 
 Permanent Commission of Custom Valuations. 
 
 Recorder: M. MARTIN (Georges) President of the Chamber of 
 Laces and Embroideries. 
 
 Secretary: M. GOULETTE (Eugene) President of the Syndical 
 Chamber of Passementerie, Mercery, Buttons, and Ribbons 
 of Paris. 
 
 Treasurer: M. NOIROT-BIAIS (Henri). 
 
 MEMBERS 
 MM. BABOIN (Emile). 
 
 BELL AN (Leopold) , Syndic of the Municipal Council of 
 Paris. 
 
 CROUVEZIER (Charles). 
 
 DARQUER (Adolphe) President of the Chamber of Com- 
 merce of Calais. 
 
 GUYE (Henri) Judge of the Tribunal of the Commerce of 
 the Seine. 
 
 HEUZEY (Georges). 
 
MM. ISAAC (Auguste) President of the Chamber of Commerce 
 of Lyons. 
 
 LEFEBURE (Ernest) O. >. 
 
 LORE A u (Alfred) $fr, Engineer of Arts and Manufactures. 
 Former Deputy General Councillor of the Loiret. Re- 
 gent of the Bank of France. 
 
 NEVEU (Etienne) Sfc. 
 ROUSSEL (Alcide) Designer. 
 
 SEBASTIEN (Gustave) Member of the Tribunal of the 
 Chamber of Commerce of Saint-Quentin (Aisne). 
 
 VACHON (Marius) Advertising Agent. 
 
 ARCHITECT 
 
 M. DE MONTARNAL (Joseph de Guirard) Architect for the 
 Government (Diplome). 
 
 COMMISSION OF THE RETROSPECTIVE 
 COLLECTIONS 
 
 MM. LOREAU (Alfred). 
 MARTIN (Georges). 
 NOIRET-BIAIS (Henri). 
 
 Recorder for the Retrospective Collection 
 
 (Section of Laces) 
 M. LEFEBURE (Ernest). 
 
(31 be nUH-m&i' PITS s 
 
 CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
 U . S . A 
 
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS 
 
 WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN 
 THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY 
 WILL INCREASE TO 5O CENTS ON THE FOURTH 
 DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY 
 OVERDUE. 
 
 MAY 23 1933 
 
 (,0V 
 
 LD 21-50-!, '33 
 
04031 
 
 55^790 
 
 z&o 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY