Textiles and Stuff 

This is a beautiful set of vintage place mats in what is probably pina cloth, with finely worked borders of needlepoint lace. There are eight mats and a set of eight matching napkins with matching lace corners. They are white in colour. The mats are embroidered in mercerised thread with an urn of flowers at each end and tiny urns along the edges, which incorporate some drawn thread work. The place mats measure 41 x 27 cms. (16 x 10 1/2 inches) and the napkins approximately 41 cms. (16 ins) square. They are in excellent unused condition, finely embroidered and would be a superb table setting for a special occasion.

This is an interesting and rare example of a damask tablecloth with the date and name of the owner woven into the fabric. In a banner feature is the inscription: “M. Ranworth 1822”. The whole cloth is covered in a beautiful design of a vine and grapes, and flying within this are exotic birds with long tails. It measures approximately 170 cms. (67 inches) square and is in good condition except for a small hole measuring 1 cm x 1.5 cms. which can be seen in the photograph, and a few small light brown marks. This is an unusual find for a collection or museum.

A wonderful gift for somebody seetting up home, or even for your spare room! This is a delightful antique Edwardian bedspread, dating from the beginning of the 20th Century. It is made up of 24 cream linen squares, each embroidered with garden and wild flowers such as fuchsias, briar roses, lily-of-the-valley, blackberries, forget-me-not and pansies. The squares are joined together with cotton lace of a Maltese type, probably machine made, and the whole bedspread is edged with a double band of the same lace. The bedspread is backed with cream silk and is cream in colour, although in the photograph it appears almost white. The embroidery is executed in both woollen and silk threads and the colours are very bright and fresh. The measurements are approximately 55 inches (140 cms.) by 77 inches (195 cms.). Although there is a very slight discolouration on a couple of the squares, these are hardly noticeable and the bedspread is in very good condition, very usable and a very attractive piece of embroidery. The bedspread has been photographed with a silk bed valance of the same period which is also for sale if required.