White ostrich feather fan circa 1880-1900. Blonde tortoiseshell frame, number with a cluster of 5 arrows in a gold baron's crown and diamonds on the plume. Clasp. H : 45 cm approximately In its original box, bearing the gold-stamped address of "Maison Faucon, avenue de l'Opéra à Paris". At the end of the 19th century, many people were interested in collecting lace and antique fabrics, precious witnesses of a pre-industrial era. The family collection we present here was gathered by enlightened amateurs whose taste for philanthropy and passion for collecting seem to be common to many members of this family. An examination of this eclectic collection, which includes Italian quattrocento velvets (lot 332), Chinese wallpaper (lot 343), secular (lots 331 and following) and religious embroidery (lots 329 and 330), delicate lace (lots 264 to 310), and other fashionable and luxurious ornaments, reveals an obvious predilection for the 18th century, during which Eighteenth century during which the textile arts reached their apogee. Finally, in addition to objects visibly acquired for the beauty or technical virtuosity of their decoration, others were simply intended to adorn opulent interiors or adorn the members of this family, clients of Worth and Poiret at the beginning of the 20th century (lots 311 to 313). Whatever their destination, all remain exceptional witnesses of French taste from the Renaissance to the 19th century, while revealing the essential mark of the collector: a commitment to objects of the highest quality with a keen sense of their historical importance. Séverine Experton-Dard