Collar

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

While the shape of this collar is consistent with 17th century styles, and the lace and edging also date from then, the lace is pieced together in sections and has a raw edge at the neck opening, suggesting that it has been reconfigured from its original form. This could have been done later in the 17th century, as the shape suggests, or at any time since. It was common practice to recyle fine laces into more updated styles.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art