Little pieces of history, part three

Here's another piece of fancywork that was passed on to me. Unfortunately, I don't know a lot about the background of this piece.

(click on the images to be taken to my flickr page for larger images)



This tiny hankerchief has seen better days, I'm afraid. It's got a fair amount of damage and is quite fragile.



I added my gauge ruler so you can get an idea of how small it is. The border appears to be done in bobbin lace. The corners are worked into the lace pattern, not folded and turned, with a seam at one corner. Even with the damage, it's pretty remarkable work.



The embroidery is drawn thread work, with woven wheels done at the junctions.

With the fabric as thin and flimsy as it is, coupled with the damage, I have no way of judging how well done the original embroidery was.

I'm not sure how to handle this piece. I don't want it to get any more damaged. It might be worth searching out some specialists and find out.