 A piece ofpoint de France lace produced between 1700 and 1725 | |
| Type | Lace |
|---|---|
| Production method | Needle lace |
| Production process | Craft production |
| Place of origin | France |
| Introduced | 17th century |
Point de France is a type ofneedle lace developed in the late 17th century.[1][2] It is characterized by rich and symmetrical detail, and a reliance on symbols associated withKing Louis XIV of France, such as suns,sunflowers,fleurs-de-lys, and crowns.[3]
During the 1660s, King Louis XIV of France was spending extravagant sums on lace from theRepublic of Venice, particularly a type known aspoint de Venise, to the dismay of his finance minister,Jean-Baptiste Colbert.[1] In order to redirect this spending into the French economy, Colbert set up a number of official royal lace factories, which were to produce a type of lace he namedpoint de France. He worked with the French ambassador to Venice to tempt needle-workers fromVenice,Italy, andFlanders to emigrate to France, prompting theDoge of Venice to declare that defection to France by needle-workers was a treasonous act punishable by execution or assassination.[1][4] It is unclear whether this threat was ever carried out; regardless, enough Venetian needle-workers emigrated that the French quickly learned to produce high-quality lace.[4][3]
Point de France was popularized by the clergy, who used it for the ornaments of theirrochets, a type of clerical vestment.
Most surviving pieces from the 16th and 17th centuries are now in museums.
Lace types | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needle lace |
|  | |||||||
| Bobbin lace |
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| Tape lace | |||||||||
| Crocheted lace | |||||||||
| Machine-made lace | |||||||||
| Other handmade laces | |||||||||
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