A History of Lace

I happened upon this link, showing a detailed overview on the history of lace and have chosen a few beautiful images to share.

http://venetianred.net/index.php?s=A+History+of+Lace+in+Seven+Portraits%3A

Duchesse Bobbin Lace Collar, ca. late 19th century.

It is the one costly wear which never vulgarises; jewels worn without judgment can be rendered offensive to good taste in their too apparent glitter, but lace in its comparatively quiet richness never obtrudes itself and is recognised in its true worth and beauty only by those whose superior taste has trained them to see its value. . .

—Mrs. F. Nevil Jackson, A History of Hand-Made Lace, ca. 1900.

19th-century fan with Chantilly lace covering.

Nicholaes Pickenoy, Cornelis de Graeff,
1636, oil on canvas,
(Gemäldegalerie Berlin)

Charles Le Brun, Portrait of Louis XIV, 1661
Oil on canvas