Antique French Linen Napkins, Set of 5, Hemstitched Ladderwork Embroidery, Circa 1900

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Description

….Found at the Marché aux Puces in Paris, this set of five linen napkins dates to the Belle Époque — … Read more ….Found at the Marché aux Puces in Paris, this set of five linen napkins dates to the Belle Époque — the period when French flax and French needlework were the benchmark every other country measured itself against.
Each napkin is 25" square, finished with hand-worked ladderwork embroidery at the border — an open drawn-thread technique that takes real time to execute cleanly — paired with precise hemstitching and mitered corners. The kind of handwork that was standard in a well-appointed household table linen drawer in 1900 and is essentially gone from production now.
Condition is excellent for the age: the linen has held its strength and hand, and the embroidery and hemstitching are fully intact, no losses or repairs.
A complete matching set of this size and quality is genuinely hard to find — most surviving French linens from this period exist as odd napkins or mismatched pairs. These would do real work at a formal table, or framed individually as textile studies.
Set of: 5 matching napkins
Size: 25" x 25"
Origin: France
Era: c. 1900
Material: linen
Condition: excellent See less