Exquisite handwork in this insertion fragment. The lace is really handmade Valenciennes. The mesh consists of four-strand braids on all sides, the fine woven clothwork in the lace is surrounded by a consistent ring pair. The tucking on the narrow band between the two strips of lace is stitched by hand. Small study fragment of handmade Valenciennes, probably twentieth century, in a design that imitates early eighteenth century Val. Background mesh is a distinctive mesh known variously as cinc trous, five-hole mesh, and rose ground. Filling is a snow ground, sometimes also known as armure. Color is a yellow-white, fiber probably is cotton, both indications that it is twentieth century.
