DUCHESSE LACE

a Belgian lace, named after Marie-Henriette, duchess of Brabant (later queen of the Belgians). It was made from c. 1840 throughout the 19th century both at Brussels and (particularly) at Bruges. Much inferior (except for a few Brussels specimens) to the lace that had made Brussels famous, it was cheap and commercially successful. In duchesse lace, floral motifs, bobbin-made and sometimes resembling tape motifs, are joined by thread bars (brides).