http://tinyurl.com/ktv6yja ANTIQUE VINTAGE HANDMADE MID 18th CENTURY BELGIUM NEEDLE LACE
Size:  3″ x 10 feet
Starting Price: $795.00
Auction ends: Jan 17, 2014 18:50:09 PST
Offered by: Ebay seller yellow_daisy, Carlisle, Massachusetts, United States
Comments: This is only the 4th Special Ebay Alert I’ve ever done. In the interest of full disclosure I have been advising this seller on her laces, and I first learned about this piece back in April. I’ve been eagerly waiting for it to come up for sale (fair warning).
As a class, laces like this today are known as ‘flat-grounded needlelaces’, and were made in several countries in the early 18th c. The Flemish examples are considered by some (and I will not disagree) as the finest examples of lace ever made. The extremely fine thread, innovative design and superb technique elevates this type of lace far above the norm. In this particular piece the design has a lot of life, and the decorative clothwork is varied and beautifully done. The mesh has a characteristic streaked look due to the unevenness of the hand-spun thread, and is often commented on by authors. Note also the very typical star-like decorative fillings. Give full credit to Flemish lacemakers for this amazing product, and learn more by studying the great Belgian researchers like Mme. Lucie Paulis.
This lace isn’t quite as rare on the market as some people would like to think, and in the past few months several examples have appeared on Ebay.  But you are going to wait a long time to see something of this quality again.  The length and condition are also extraordinary.
Provenance:  From a very fine old New England lace collection.
Condition:
Modifications: One end finished with an engrelure, maybe cut. Can’t tell if the other end is cut.  One fine seam near the center – my only complaint.
Jan 13th – Seller indicates there’s probably another fine seam, difficult to detect. Seller is trying to update the listing to describe this.
Damage: A few minor pinholes.
Soilage:  Ivory color

         Sold for $3,316.99, 6 bidders.