{Set 5} Set of nine huge fine mid-19th century handwoven linen serviettes initials LRP 24
This set of serviettes comes from the mid-19th century, c.1860, and they once belonged to a large wealthy household in the Vendée, in northwest France. They are handspun and handwoven pure linen, with thicker threads dropped into the weft at the top and bottom to form a raised stripe pattern. They were woven in one continuous strip, with selvedges either side, and then cut and hemmed with minute fine hand-stitches at either end. The size and the quality of the linen indicates both the age and the wealth of the household - mid-19th century serviettes covered the entire chest and lap of the eater, necessary at a time when most wealthy people wore clothes that were complicated to wash and iron and were dyed with colours which were not necessarily colour-fast. People often cleaned their clothing by spongeing, brushing or airing it rather than washing it at this period and so protecting it from spills was the first defence. I think we should all return to this!
Each one of these has the initial of the head of the household/the family in one corner plus a number, in this case the number 24. This number relates to the number of pieces in each set. These numbers were for the washer-women who would come once every 3-6 months, to indicate the number of pieces in each set that had to be found and collated before being put away in the linen cupboard - although for households like the one these came from, the linen cupboard would have been an entire room devoted just to linens.
Linens like this represented part of the wealth of the owner. They were precious even then, and they would have become part of an inheritance when the original owner died. On some of the other pieces from this same household we can see that the initials have been slightly changed at later dates, in one case a letter has been added, in another, a letter has been unpicked.
I occasionally find pieces like these as singles. This is only the second time in my years doing this that I have found multiples of the same serviettes with the same initials. It is so rare for pieces like these to remain grouped with their siblings, and as far as possible I am trying to keep them that way. This one was difficult to separate into smaller sets as there are only 9 pieces left of the original 24, so I have left them all together
These are all in very good condition for their age. There are a few very small marks but nothing big, and there are also some visible repairs. One has a tiny hole. I have taken some photos to indicate. They have been soaked and washed gently. They are a stunning example of handwoven 19th century linen. There is another set of 6 of these exact serviettes up in another listing, making a full service of twelve - if someone wanted to take both sets there would be a discount of 20€ on the total price.
Each of these measures 71×109cm.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.
This set of serviettes comes from the mid-19th century, c.1860, and they once belonged to a large wealthy household in the Vendée, in northwest France. They are handspun and handwoven pure linen, with thicker threads dropped into the weft at the top and bottom to form a raised stripe pattern. They were woven in one continuous strip, with selvedges either side, and then cut and hemmed with minute fine hand-stitches at either end. The size and the quality of the linen indicates both the age and the wealth of the household - mid-19th century serviettes covered the entire chest and lap of the eater, necessary at a time when most wealthy people wore clothes that were complicated to wash and iron and were dyed with colours which were not necessarily colour-fast. People often cleaned their clothing by spongeing, brushing or airing it rather than washing it at this period and so protecting it from spills was the first defence. I think we should all return to this!
Each one of these has the initial of the head of the household/the family in one corner plus a number, in this case the number 24. This number relates to the number of pieces in each set. These numbers were for the washer-women who would come once every 3-6 months, to indicate the number of pieces in each set that had to be found and collated before being put away in the linen cupboard - although for households like the one these came from, the linen cupboard would have been an entire room devoted just to linens.
Linens like this represented part of the wealth of the owner. They were precious even then, and they would have become part of an inheritance when the original owner died. On some of the other pieces from this same household we can see that the initials have been slightly changed at later dates, in one case a letter has been added, in another, a letter has been unpicked.
I occasionally find pieces like these as singles. This is only the second time in my years doing this that I have found multiples of the same serviettes with the same initials. It is so rare for pieces like these to remain grouped with their siblings, and as far as possible I am trying to keep them that way. This one was difficult to separate into smaller sets as there are only 9 pieces left of the original 24, so I have left them all together
These are all in very good condition for their age. There are a few very small marks but nothing big, and there are also some visible repairs. One has a tiny hole. I have taken some photos to indicate. They have been soaked and washed gently. They are a stunning example of handwoven 19th century linen. There is another set of 6 of these exact serviettes up in another listing, making a full service of twelve - if someone wanted to take both sets there would be a discount of 20€ on the total price.
Each of these measures 71×109cm.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.
This set of serviettes comes from the mid-19th century, c.1860, and they once belonged to a large wealthy household in the Vendée, in northwest France. They are handspun and handwoven pure linen, with thicker threads dropped into the weft at the top and bottom to form a raised stripe pattern. They were woven in one continuous strip, with selvedges either side, and then cut and hemmed with minute fine hand-stitches at either end. The size and the quality of the linen indicates both the age and the wealth of the household - mid-19th century serviettes covered the entire chest and lap of the eater, necessary at a time when most wealthy people wore clothes that were complicated to wash and iron and were dyed with colours which were not necessarily colour-fast. People often cleaned their clothing by spongeing, brushing or airing it rather than washing it at this period and so protecting it from spills was the first defence. I think we should all return to this!
Each one of these has the initial of the head of the household/the family in one corner plus a number, in this case the number 24. This number relates to the number of pieces in each set. These numbers were for the washer-women who would come once every 3-6 months, to indicate the number of pieces in each set that had to be found and collated before being put away in the linen cupboard - although for households like the one these came from, the linen cupboard would have been an entire room devoted just to linens.
Linens like this represented part of the wealth of the owner. They were precious even then, and they would have become part of an inheritance when the original owner died. On some of the other pieces from this same household we can see that the initials have been slightly changed at later dates, in one case a letter has been added, in another, a letter has been unpicked.
I occasionally find pieces like these as singles. This is only the second time in my years doing this that I have found multiples of the same serviettes with the same initials. It is so rare for pieces like these to remain grouped with their siblings, and as far as possible I am trying to keep them that way. This one was difficult to separate into smaller sets as there are only 9 pieces left of the original 24, so I have left them all together
These are all in very good condition for their age. There are a few very small marks but nothing big, and there are also some visible repairs. One has a tiny hole. I have taken some photos to indicate. They have been soaked and washed gently. They are a stunning example of handwoven 19th century linen. There is another set of 6 of these exact serviettes up in another listing, making a full service of twelve - if someone wanted to take both sets there would be a discount of 20€ on the total price.
Each of these measures 71×109cm.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.