Richelieu is a form of whitework, where portions of the design are cut away from the ground fabric, creating a lace-lake effect. “Brides” or “bars” created from the embroidery thread connect between the edges of the cutwork to add stability to the ground fabric.. The technique was popularised in France during the 17th century, during the reign of Cardinal Richelieu, after whom it is named. Richelieu embroidery typically involves working on a piece of sheer fabric, such as organza or linen. Thus this magnificent bed linen is a typical example of such laborious and intensive hand work. I obtained the bed linen from a lady seller who inherited the piece from her great grandmother and through her mother and goes back to the 1870's. For all those decennia it has never left the armoire and by the looks of it has been very seldom used. This is the second piece of "Richelieu bed linen" from the lady. Again it has very little used and has been patiently waiting in the Wedding Armoire all those decennia. It is very similar to the other piece. To highlight the "Richelieu hand work" I have inserted a piece of red felt to show the magnificent painstaking work. The centre piece is magnificent and in pristine condition and so are in fact the other pieces of Richelieu. The sides of the bed linen continue with Richelieu cut out work by 70cm. The fabric of the bed linen is very soft and supple due to the linen "weft or warp". These pieces are very hard to get by now.