Emma Radford was a prize-winning lacemaker and designer in her native Devon. Devonshire bobbin lace, commonly known as Honiton lace, comprised individual motifs that were later joined together. Queen Victoria chose Honiton lace for her wedding ensemble in 1840, leading to a boom in its popularity in the mid-nineteenth century. Philanthropists of the period were intent on increasing sales of handmade lace to alleviate the poverty of lacemakers. This movement coincided with the development of a new and uniquely English style of lace that incorporated motifs of highly naturalistic flowers, birds, and insects. The techniques developed to craft three-dimensional effects such as those seen in this piece, sometimes called raised work, were a specialty of Honiton lace workers.
