Description
A refined antique set of Victorian-era dining doilies, featuring star-pattern damask centers framed by exquisite hand-crocheted lace. Once used beneath dinner and dessert plates, these elegant survivors speak to a time of formal entertaining, careful household management, and gracious table presentation.
This antique table set of **Victorian-era plate doilies** offers a glimpse into the refined rituals of formal dining at the turn of the 20th century. Intended for placement beneath individual plates, such doilies were a common and admired practice during well-appointed dinner parties, protecting fine tables while lending beauty and symmetry to the setting.
The set includes **two sizes**, traditionally used for **dinner plates and dessert or fruit courses**, all that remains of what was once likely a more extensive service. Each doily is centered with a **woven cotton damask fabric featuring a repeating star motif**, a pattern favored for its subtle elegance and light-catching quality.
Surrounding the centers is a beautifully executed **hand-crocheted lace trim**, displaying raised, scrolling motifs characteristic of **Irish crochet–influenced lacework** rather than bobbin lace. The workmanship is fine and even, reflecting skilled hands and many hours of careful labor.
These doilies came from a **Buffalo, New York family**, and their quality, coordination, and survival suggest a household of comfortable means—one accustomed to entertaining and supported by the time (and likely help) required for laundering, starching, and meticulous ironing.
Today, they remain both **decorative and evocative**—lovely displayed on a table, sideboard, or beneath treasured china, and especially appealing to collectors of antique textiles and formal
**Details**
* Large size is 12-1/2″ in diameter – lace edging, itself is 3″ wide – 5 in the lot – Note unraveling of a bit of trim on one doily edge. (see photo)
*Small size is 8-1/2″ in diameter – lace edging, itself is 2-1/2″ wide – 8 in the lot
Stored away for years and have not been laundered.
* Era: Late Victorian to early Edwardian, c. 1890–1910
* Construction: Hand-crocheted lace with woven cotton damask centers
* Pattern: Star motif damask
* Condition: Very good antique condition with light, age-appropriate wear. One large doily does have an edge of the crochet that has unraveled from being caught.
* Origin: Buffalo, New York estate
Collector’s Note:
Star-pattern damask is encountered far less frequently than floral or scroll motifs in 19th-century table linens. Its geometric precision required skilled loom work and was typically reserved for higher-quality household textiles rather than everyday use. Such motifs were favored for formal dining and “best” linens, particularly in households accustomed to entertaining with care and ceremony.
While stars were not an official military designation in domestic table settings, the motif carried associations of order, rank, and refinement. As such, star damask linens would have been especially suitable in socially prominent homes, including those of professional or military families, where formal presentation at the table reflected both hospitality and status.
