Handkerchief

Rita de Acosta Lydig (1880-1929), a noted beauty and style icon of the early 20th century, owned a group of six small accessories known as "glove handkerchiefs." Owing to their diminutive size and lavish lace edging, the hankies were not intended as functional objects, but rather as flirtatious devices and elegant examples of fine lacemaking. A collector of lace and antique textiles, de Acosta Lydig likely appreciated the skill involved in making the lace edgings. Each hankie has been personalized with the owner's name, an additional level of refinement which appears on other pieces (2009.300.2793, 2009.300.2794) from the same owner in the Brooklyn Museum collection.