31/07/2025
Inishmacsaint lace cuff :
This exquisite piece once belonged to a renowned Holywood artist, Rosamond Praeger. It is most likely that this piece was passed down to her from her mother.
Rosamonds father Willem Emil Praeger was a Dutchman who immigrated to Belfast to work in the family linen business. He became a linen merchant and settled in my home town of Holywood, County Down.
Rosamond was an illustrator, a Sculptress and author. Her life story is fascinating, having lived in Paris, she then returned to Holywood to build her studio in Hibernia street.
How did I come to own some of her lace?
Many years ago, there was an antique dealer who had a shop on the Shore road, Holywood, called Derek Bamford.
He was a very good friend of my father's and offered him a choice of one box from Rosamond's collection of textiles, to buy of course. This was in the mid 70's and Derek had stashed it away since the late 50's.
My dad presented the box to me on my birthday because he knew I loved linen and lace. An amazing gift which I have held onto for almost 50 years.
The box contained a few pieces of Inishmacsaint lace, including the exquisite piece I recently sold to a collector in Australia. Sadly there was only one cuff.
I have slowly sold off some pieces over the years and I will be putting this cuff up for sale very soon.
Please swipe to see the super Rare Ulster tea towel celebrating Rosamond Praeger and her infamous Johnny The Jig sculpture that is a real Holywood landmark. I may also consider selling this tea towel that I have had in my collection for many years.
Please Google Rosamond and read her story, you may well have seen some of her sculptures across Northern Ireland and not known who was the artist behind them.
