Mechlin lace trim

Status

Not on view

Label Text

On January 6, 1759, Martha Dandridge Custis, the wealthiest widow in Virginia, married the young Virginia colonel George Washington. About her neckline and sleeves she wore fine Mechlin lace, considered by European royalty to be the "Queen of Laces". This piece likely adorned one of Martha's layered under-sleeve flounces, known as an "engageante". It was later removed by descendants and kept as a memento of the defining occasion when she became Washington's wife, and the nation's future first lady.

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Date1740-1760

Geography Made - Belgium

Medium/TechniqueLinen, bobbin lace

DimensionsOverall: 3 1/8 in. × 10 7/8 in. (7.94 cm × 27.62 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph G. Newman, 1984

Object numberW-2991/D

DescriptionMechlin white linen bobbin lace featuring a repeating scrolling pattern of flowers, leaves, and fancy fillings on Mechlin mesh ground. An arching ribbon motif scrolls across the piece from the lower lace edge to the upper edge. Elaborate flower-and-dot and bar-and-dot mesh fill the scrolls. Floral sprigs featuring three flower blossoms and a cluster of berries reach across the lace from the upper to the lower edge. Tiny picots (loops of thread) decorate the exterior edge. The hexagonal Mechlin mesh ground has four twisted sides and two plaited sides. A shimmery gimp (thick outline thread) defines the motifs.
Published ReferencesWilliam Armstrong, "Some New Washington Relics. I. From the Collection of Mrs. B.W. Kennon," The Century Magazine 40/1 (May 1890): 18.

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