"Lace Head" (Garniture, Cap and Lappets)

1700s

France, Sedan

Medium

Needle lace (Point de Sedan)

Measurements

Overall: 74.5 x 35.7 cm (29 5/16 x 14 1/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Edward S. Harkness in memory of Mrs. Stephen V. Harkness, Twentieth Anniversary Gift 1936.489

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Location

Not on view

Description

Very few complete lace headdresses from the 1700s and 1800s (known as a ‘lace head’) survive, but three pieces formed this type of headwear. The semicircular cap with narrow edging (known as lace garniture) sat on the head and the long lappets (streamers that frame the face) could be styled in a number of ways: hanging free, pleated, or tied in a decorative knot. Among the items of women’s fashionable dress for which lace was used in the 1700s and 1800s, the ‘lace head’ was a particular focus for the display of wealth and taste. The quality of the lace, and thus its likely expense, would be immediately apparent to observers.