please help me identify this antique embroidery lace tablecloth - i think...

Hello: So glad I found this forum! This was a gift from an estate of someone we did not know, and we have no idea what it is: it looks hand embroidered and maybe needle lace combination table cloth or topper and it is as delicate as can be. It is on linen we think. It is signed with two initials. Can anyone tell us where it is from, what age and maybe what is this technique called. Àny information would be nice. Really appreciate your help!

 

Hi,
What is the size of the piece? Looks like white embriodery.
greg

 

Hi: it is about 40 inches square, and is not white but rather cream or bone color and the embroidery is i similar color. Also would like to add the fabric looks like linen but we are not experts. Thank you!!

 

Hi,
That would likely be for a bridge table (usually folded). White embroidary is used as in white , bone, ecru and cream, as to be different from colors.
Wait for the experts. Is 6rivets still on her honeymoon?????
greg

 

I understand. Not sure who you mention here rivets - is that question directed at me

 

Hi,
6rivits is the name of a gal who is a textile expert. Sorry about the mix up. The folding table has four legs that fold up flat and brought out at bridge parties.
greg

 

this hardly looks like a bridge table tablecloth. way too delicate and fine, but maybe you are right. thanks

 

I suspect (without much knowledge to back it up. LOL) that this was more for a tea table than a bridge/card table.

It's been too long since I took classes, but it looks like Satin stitch - drawn work and/or, Hardanger.
And, yes, I believe it is done on linen.

 

Thank you and I would still need some more information. I still cannot say for sure whether it is hand made. can you? And also what origin this is. I will await more input and thank you very much indeed.

 

re-loading some detail photos darkened on purpose to show the details hopefully better. thank you all!

 

Try some research on "whitework embroidery".

Determining age and origin can be difficult unless you have some provenance, as these were made for a long time (and may still be), and in many places.

 

My grandmother, born in the 19th century, used to test fabric for linen by putting a couple of drops of water on it. She said if the moisture moved quickly, spreading out along the fibers in a sort of spider legs way that it was a sign of being linen.

I think your piece does look like hand embroidery

 

Linen or rice linen, and I'm thinking Philippines/China/Macau from the embroidery style (looks to me like "Forbidden stitch" rather than French knots, for example). C.1900, give or take a decade.

It's a perpetual honeymoon around here.

 

Definately linen rather than cotton. I've been a fan of linen since I was 4 years old and got introduced to mummies at my archeologist father's office, and my familiarity with it is so ingrained I don't know how I know - I just do. Linen is more light reflective while cotton is more absorbant, and the individual fibers are less fuzzy. It also has more distinct wrinkles. Heavy starch can make cotton mimic linen to some degree but it won't fool a trained eye. I also agree with 6rivets on the origin. The Philippines was my first thought, but. The embroidery is not what you'd find in European linens - the motif has an Asian feel and the stitches are of a factory quality. It's typical of Edwardian tea cloths from 1900, or a bit later.