No. 1. Plastron and Collar for a Dress
From A Renascence of the Irish Art of Lace-making by A.S.C.
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These are needlepoint laces worked by lace-makers under the supervision of the nuns of the Convent of Poor Clares, Kenmare, Co. Kerry. The pattern was designed by one of the nuns.
The style of the lace, with its varied and minute fillings and its gentle accentuations worked in relief, is suggestive of a variation in needlepoint lace-making which was developed in France during the latter part of the seventeenth century, when the Royal Manufactory of hand-made laces had been established by Louis XIV. at the suggestion of his Minister, Colbert.
