c. 1700-1715

Cravat End

An incredibly expensive status symbol for elite men and women throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, lace was worn where it showed to best advantage, such as at the ends of the cravat a man tied around his neck. This fine example contains many allusions to Louis XIV and his military victories. In the center, the cock of France perches on trophies of war above a double L, the king's monogram. Flanking this, angels blow trumpets of fame above the flag-wielding figures of Mars and Minerva.