10 Superb damask linen napkins in excellent condition. In all the years Antique table linen has gone through my hands I have never seen this particular design and do not quite know how to describe the magnificent design. The initials R.V. are embroidered in heavy high relief and my belief is that the letters were purchased from the haberdashery shop in the village and you found these wonderful shops all over France in the middle and late 19th Century. They have now almost disappeared which is such a pity as they possessed everything for sewing and embroidery. The initials would be loosely attached to the linen and then covered with white yarn woud take a long time to finish. The initials are sitting in a oval garland of " accumulés " of clouds, something I have not seen before and having studied design prior it has all to do with the birds on the napkins. The napkin is framed with small platted ribbons. Between the ribbons and large ribbons platted around the pole are sways of l'hirondelles ( swallow ). The central piece is simulating the sky which is filled with stars. The wide ribbons are tied on all four corners with a generous bow. All I will and can add that it is a superb choreographic composition.