French Treasure Hunt Thursday

I know I promised on Saturday to show you photos of THE most amazing tablecloth I bought in France, on Sunday, but I after the bootfair on Sunday morning I came down with a rotten cold and have spent the last few days sneezing, coughing and spluttering on the settee, feeling sorry for myself. Feeling a bit better today so I spent some time this morning catching up with your posts. when I saw that it was Treasure Hunt Thursday again on Blue Creek Home , I thought I could combine showing you the tablecloth with the Treasure Hunt, because this tablecloth really is an amazing treasure.

I have been collecting all kinds of linens and fabrics for many many years, and I can honestly say that I have never seen anything as beautiful as this. The condition of the tablecloth is fantastic, the workmanship is incredible, the pattern absolutely gorgeous. In fact, the embroidery is so masterly and unbelievably fine, I took a whole lot of photographs of the reverse, lol, and it wasn't until I went to fold it up, that I realised my mistake. The following photos really don't show the beauty of this tablecloth properly, but perhaps they show enough to give you a good idea. Click twice on the photographs to enlarge and fully appreciate the beautiful workmanship -














Isn't this 19thCentury French whitework embroidery at its finest? As you can see, it is huge, too big for my dining table, so now I am contemplating whether I ought to keep it and fondle it and drool over it anyway or perhaps put it in Vintageland. Hmm. We'll see.