Chantilly lace

Lace made at Chantilly, north of Paris, from the 17th century.

The silk laces that made the town famous date from the 18th century. Black, white, and blond lace (derived from natural silk) were made in the 19th century, and by 1840 machine-made imitations were available. The designs are characterized by naturalistic flowers and ribbons on a spotted background.

Chantilly lace from France, c. 1870; in the Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique, Brussels.

By courtesy of the Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique, Brussels; photograph, © A.C.L., Brussels

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▪ French lace

 lace made at Chantilly, Oise département, north of Paris. Lace was made there from the 17th century, but the silk laces for which Chantilly was famous date from the 18th century. In the 19th century black, white, and blonde (made from silk in its natural colour of beige; see blonde lace) laces were made. By 1840 good machine-made imitations were available; both they and the more expensive handmade kind were fashionable from midcentury, when shawls and even whole mantles of Chantilly were worn with the crinoline. Designs were of naturalistic flowers, ribbons, and the like, often on a spotted background.

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