Argentan Lace Fabric

Argentan lace Fabric or Point d’Argentan is a needle lace from the 18th century. Argentella is derived from Argentan.

Origin and History

In the eighteenth century, Argentan was a form of needlepoint lace that was produced in Normandy. It is named after the local town of Argentan, which lies close to Alençon, another lace producing center. Argentan lace is characterized by its very fine work, with sometimes up to ten buttonhole stitches per mesh.

Argentan lace was much appreciated at the French court in the mid-eighteenth century, and it was also very popular at the British court. The wedding train of Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) in 1760 contained much Argentan lace. Later in the eighteenth century, Argentan lace lost some of its popularity to the lace from Alençon with its simpler designs. In the mid-nineteenth century, some spectacular pieces of Argentan were produced by the Lefebure firm in Bayeux, but Argentan lace never recovered its former position.

Argentan needlepoint lace was made on a locally made hexagonal net ground, which is larger and clearly hexagonal, as compared to the net of the Alençon lace.

The Argentan lace museum is located along the Noé Park (Maison des Dentelles et du Point d’Argentan).

Sources: Wikipedia
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