One of my favourite types of antique lace is Maltese lace. This style of handmade bobbin lace originated on the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean.

In order to revive the craft of lace making on Malta and to provide employment for local young women, new lace designs were introduced from Italy in the middle of the 19th Century.

A few years later, in 1851 the Great Exhibition was held in London and Maltese lace was one of the crafts from around the world that were displayed in the exhibition in the Crystal Palace.

This new style of lace became very popular with the public visiting the exhibition and consequently Maltese lace soon became highly fashionable.  This ensured that the industry on Malta could become well established. However the popularity of this lace also meant that many lace makers around Europe started to imitate the designs of Maltese lace and make their own variations of the patterns.

For instance, a great deal of black lace of similar styles to Maltese was made in France, and in England Bedfordshire lace makers made a style known as Bedfordshire Maltese. Some of these imitations were lovely laces in their own right of course, but they often confuse collectors who think that their lace is Maltese.

The deep collar in the above image is Maltese silk lace. This ecru colour is one of the distinguishing features of this lace.

These large collars are known as ‘Berthas’. If you imagine the large, full skirted dresses of the late Victorian period you can see that a large collar like this would be needed to appear in the same proportions as the skirt.  

The fine silk thread makes a very soft lace, which sits nicely on the shoulders and makes it a very comfortable lace to wear. Often these collars were fastened with a favourite brooch or with a ribbon.

The mat in this picture has a very simple design and was of a style that was often copied in other lace making centres. However, this mat is made from the ecru silk used on Malta (whereas other centres often used linen rather than silk thread) and so is probably an early 20th century piece of the type typically made for tourists. 

It also has the typical Maltese cross design in the centre of the mat, which distinguishes this lace from imitations. Sometimes other centres included a similar shape in their designs, but it is not usually an exact copy of this cross.

The small bag is quite unusual and a nice item for a lace collector. It has a heraldic design of a lion in the centre, which is very charming.  I imagine this piece dates from around 1880.

 Most of these images are of items I either have in my lace collection or of items I have sold in the past, so when I look at these images I cannot quite remember if I still have them!

If you are looking to collect Maltese lace it is useful to know that Maltese lace was made in sections and then the sections were sewn together to complete the item. You often see pieces that look as if they are damaged, but on closer examination you can see that the joins between individual pieces have come loose and can easily be repaired. 

These joins are a weak point in the lace as a single thread was used to sew the sections of lace together and this is not as strong as the heavier sections of lace which consist of many threads twisted together.  So, you may be able to purchase a piece cheaply as 'damaged' and then quickly join the sections back together to restore the lace to its former glory!

So I wish you happy hunting if you are looking for this lace.