Point de France

Cravat end, late 17th century, France. Cravat end, late 17th century, France. Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acc. no. T.33-1949

Point de France, next to Point de Sedan, is the general term for the needlepoint lace that was produced in France in the second half of the seventeenth century, mainly in order to counter the import of expensive laces from Italy (Gros Point de Venice) and Flanders.

Many of the new production centres were established in Normandy, as for instance in and around Alençon and Argentan. The driving force behind this industrial politics was Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a minister at the court of Louis XIV. 

In the late eighteenth century needlepoint laces started to be replaced in France and beyond by net-based laces. In the mid-nineteenth century, this type of lace was revived under the name of Point Colbert.

V&A online catalogue (retrieved 10th May 2017).

WV

Last modified on Wednesday, 10 May 2017 15:11
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