Irish Lace Coat, ca. 1910
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GUEST:
As far as I know, it's tatted silk Irish lace. And from the shape and design of it, I would say it's Victorian. I found it in a house that was going to be destroyed. The destruction crew said, "You can have anything you find here." So I took it.
APPRAISER:
Wow.
GUEST:
And I've had it since 1972, about.
APPRAISER:
This is an Irish lace coat. They are made in Ireland, obviously. I've never seen one that was credited with who did all the work to make this beautiful piece. Possibly they were made by women at home in their spare time, if there was such a thing. They're very desirable because of how beautiful they are. It's cotton, not silk.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
It's got a lot of motifs that are very typical of the Irish crochet.
GUEST:
Irish motifs, right.
APPRAISER:
And it's got all these brides with the little bumps, they always have that. And then the finer work through the body. But the very glamorous...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
and eye-catching work is on the edge and on the ends of the sleeves...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...with the bobbles, which is very desirable. Not every piece of Irish lace is going to come with the bobbles. And it has a beautiful scalloped hem. And when we turn it around, we see that it has the same large motif down the center of the back.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
It dates to about 1908 or 1910. So it's not quite as old as you thought it was.
GUEST:
Right, yeah.
APPRAISER:
But it would have been worn with an Edwardian dress or a blouse and a skirt.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And this would have been shorter than the skirt and just looked very dramatic over it.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Originally, it was white, and you can hand-launder it and bring it back to that white, because it's cotton. The condition is amazing.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
It's really, really in great condition, and it has something I've never seen before. Two Irish crochet pins.
GUEST:
Right, for holding it onto your dressers.
APPRAISER:
To fasten it, yeah. Absolutely beautiful. It's really, it's a lovely piece. I would put a retail value on this of $2,500 to $3,000.
GUEST:
Wow, yeah. Thank you. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
You're welcome.
GUEST:
It's really been, uh, just a beautiful thing in my life for so long.
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