{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.fontange","code":"thing-q1435851","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1435851/","name":"fontange","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.OBJ"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A fontange is a women's headdress fashionable in Europe in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, typically comprising ribbons and upright tiers of lace supported by a wire framework above the forehead.","purpose":"Enable an agent to identify a fontange, distinguish its surviving components from reconstructed appearance, and judge appropriate interpretation, mounting, and use.","scope":{"in":["Identification of complete fontanges and components attributed to them","Raised textile arrangement, cap configuration, and supporting structure","Lace, ribbons, attachment points, and construction evidence","Relationship between the headdress, its placement, and supporting hair arrangement","Condition, mounting requirements, and limits on handling or wearing","Evidence for dating, attribution, and reconstructed appearance"],"out":["Hairstyles considered independently of the physical headdress","Biography of the person associated with the name fontange","Lace production and lace classification beyond identifying constituent materials","Complete court dress ensembles and general European fashion history","Portraits, prints, and fashion dolls as independently catalogued objects","Other lace caps, regional headdresses, and later tall hairstyles"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Seek evidence of a raised lace-and-ribbon arrangement above a cap or head attachment; tall hair alone does not establish a fontange.","Examine support and attachment evidence compatible with an upright textile arrangement; an ordinary soft lace cap should not qualify solely because it has lace.","Require contextual or construction evidence before identifying detached lace strips as fontange components.","Distinguish a historical object from a modern reconstruction even when their worn silhouettes closely match.","Resolve whether a source uses fontange for the whole headdress or a constituent arrangement before equating its description with the recorded object."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"identity-and-boundaries","name":"Identity and boundaries","description":"Establish what the name fontange denotes in the record and whether the physical evidence supports that identification.","layers":[{"id":"term-and-referent","name":"Term and referent","description":"Separate the physical headdress from hairstyle terminology and component names.","findings":[{"id":"fontange-referent","name":"Fontange referent","description":"Record the referent intended by each source rather than assuming that every use names an identical assembly.","questions":[{"text":"Does this source use fontange for the complete headdress, its textile decoration, or the associated hairstyle?","id":"fontange-referent-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which physical components does the registry instance include, and which are separately associated objects?","id":"fontange-referent-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"identification-evidence","name":"Identification evidence","description":"Test the attribution against surviving construction and documented comparisons.","findings":[{"id":"candidate-discrimination","name":"Candidate discrimination","description":"Use the relationship between cap, raised decoration, and support to assess candidates, allowing incomplete survival.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence connects this object to an upright lace-and-ribbon headdress rather than another lace cap?","id":"candidate-discrimination-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Who assigned the fontange identification, and what object examination or comparison supports it?","id":"candidate-discrimination-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"silhouette-and-head-placement","name":"Silhouette and head placement","description":"Describe the raised textile arrangement and its position relative to the head.","layers":[{"id":"raised-profile","name":"Raised profile","description":"Capture elevation, folding, and the relationship between the cap and upright decoration.","findings":[{"id":"profile-evidence","name":"Profile evidence","description":"Historical descriptions associate the fontange with elevated lace and ribbon, often supported by a wire framework; this is a comparison feature rather than a requirement that wire survive. [FIT Fashion History Timeline](https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/fontange/)","questions":[{"text":"Which folds, tiers, or upright sections survive, and which are inferred from depictions?","id":"profile-evidence-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What is the arrangement's height above a stated head reference in its documented mounted configuration?","id":"profile-evidence-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"placement-and-fit","name":"Placement and fit","description":"Record how the textile arrangement relates to the crown, forehead, and supporting hair.","findings":[{"id":"wearing-configuration","name":"Wearing configuration","description":"Treat head placement and hair support as evidenced relationships rather than filling gaps with a modern styling convention.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence establishes the front, back, and intended head position of the surviving components?","id":"wearing-configuration-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which hair arrangement or attachment surface is needed for the proposed reconstruction, and what supports that choice?","id":"wearing-configuration-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"textiles-and-support-construction","name":"Textiles and support construction","description":"Record the lace, ribbons, cap elements, and supporting connections that make up the headdress.","layers":[{"id":"textile-components","name":"Textile components","description":"Identify and measure constituent textiles without imposing a single lace technique on the kind.","findings":[{"id":"lace-identification","name":"Lace identification","description":"The Metropolitan Museum catalogues an early eighteenth-century fontange as bobbin lace, Brussels lace, point d'Angleterre, with a qualified possibly Flemish attribution; these are properties of that example. [Metropolitan Museum object record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/218148)","questions":[{"text":"Which lace techniques, fabric structures, and ribbon materials are identified through examination rather than visual guesswork?","id":"lace-identification-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What are the dimensions of each surviving textile component when supported without stretching?","id":"lace-identification-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"framework-and-joins","name":"Framework and joins","description":"Locate structural supports and the joins that connect decoration to the cap or head attachment.","findings":[{"id":"support-and-attachment-map","name":"Support and attachment map","description":"A London Museum print record describes a fontange as a high arrangement of wires, lace, and silk; an individual object still requires examination to establish its own support system. [London Museum print record](https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/v/object-725067/dame-de-la-cour-vestue-a-la-sultane/)","questions":[{"text":"Which wires, stitches, ties, pin traces, or other attachment features survive, and what does each connect?","id":"support-and-attachment-map-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which supports and joins are original, later repairs, or modern display additions?","id":"support-and-attachment-map-q02","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What evidence supports any proposed stiffening or missing framework?","id":"support-and-attachment-map-q03","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"dating-and-reconstruction-evidence","name":"Dating and reconstruction evidence","description":"Connect physical evidence with dated objects and depictions while recording uncertainty.","layers":[{"id":"chronology-and-attribution","name":"Chronology and attribution","description":"Keep textile manufacture, assembly, wearing, and later alteration distinct.","findings":[{"id":"attribution-chain","name":"Attribution chain","description":"Record each date and geographic attribution with its evidential basis and qualifiers.","questions":[{"text":"Does the proposed date apply to lace manufacture, headdress assembly, documented wearing, or later alteration?","id":"attribution-chain-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What supports the attributed production location, and is it being confused with the place of use or collection?","id":"attribution-chain-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"depictions-and-missing-parts","name":"Depictions and missing parts","description":"Use visual sources to formulate bounded reconstructions.","findings":[{"id":"reconstruction-confidence","name":"Reconstruction confidence","description":"For each reconstructed feature, distinguish direct object evidence, visual comparison, and practical conjecture.","questions":[{"text":"Which dated depiction supports each proposed missing fold, ribbon, cap section, or support?","id":"reconstruction-confidence-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which features remain invisible or ambiguous because of the depiction's viewpoint or stylization?","id":"reconstruction-confidence-q02","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"How will a reconstruction identify its conjectural components to viewers or users?","id":"reconstruction-confidence-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"condition-display-and-wear","name":"Condition, display, and wear","description":"Evaluate the condition of delicate raised textiles and their supports before choosing a presentation.","layers":[{"id":"textile-support-condition","name":"Textile and support condition","description":"Examine weaknesses where elevated decoration meets supporting elements.","findings":[{"id":"structural-vulnerabilities","name":"Structural vulnerabilities","description":"Record condition at folds, joins, and textile-support contacts without assuming that every object contains metal.","questions":[{"text":"Where are tears, weakened threads, crushed folds, or detached joins relative to the proposed upright arrangement?","id":"structural-vulnerabilities-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"If wire survives, is deformation, exposure, or corrosion affecting adjacent textile?","id":"structural-vulnerabilities-q02","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which intended positioning or handling steps require a textile conservator's assessment?","id":"structural-vulnerabilities-q03","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"mounting-and-demonstration","name":"Mounting and demonstration","description":"Select presentation methods according to surviving structure and object status.","findings":[{"id":"supported-presentation","name":"Supported presentation","description":"Document how a mount or replica demonstrates the fontange's form without presenting modern supporting work as historical evidence.","questions":[{"text":"Can a mount support the raised lace without tension on original edges, joins, or attachment points?","id":"supported-presentation-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"Should wearing and dressing demonstrations use a replica given the surviving object's condition and collection restrictions?","id":"supported-presentation-q02","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which portions of the displayed silhouette come from modern mount geometry rather than surviving construction?","id":"supported-presentation-q03","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of fontange this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of fontange this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of fontange this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of fontange this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of fontange this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe the fontange and its place in late seventeenth-century fashion from costume history sources.","Catalogue surviving examples and depictions with provenance."],"mustNot":["Present a reconstruction as a period original.","Handle fragile historic lace without conservation guidance.","Attribute a fontange to a named historical person without evidence."],"requiresHuman":["Conservation, loan or sale of a historic headdress."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Surviving lace headdresses are rare and easily damaged.","Misattribution distorts the historical record."],"affectedParties":["Museums and collections","Researchers and costume makers"]},"owners":{"steward":"The holding museum or private owner.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q133087725","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q28972621","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.fontange","Wikidata: Q1435851 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1435851)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Identification status: identified fontange | attributed fontange | possible component | reconstruction | unresolved","Surviving assembly: assembled headdress | disassembled components | textile fragment | supported reconstruction","Raised arrangement: record folds, tiers, orientation, and symmetry; distinguish observed from reconstructed","Height above head reference: mm, with reference point and mounted or worn configuration specified","Textile component dimensions: mm for each component's length and width, with measurement configuration","Support structure: wire observed | other support observed | support inferred | support missing | unknown; record original or later status","Constituent textiles: lace technique, fabric, ribbon, and fibre identification, each with evidence and confidence","Head and hair attachment: component-to-cap, component-to-hair, or component-to-support connection; observed, depicted, or inferred","Attributed manufacture and use: date intervals and places linked separately to manufacture, wearing, alteration, and collection","Structural condition: record tears, weakened joins, deformation, support exposure, and corrosion if present","Permitted presentation: flat support | shaped mount | supervised demonstration with replica | pending specialist assessment"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["A tall headdress of stiffened lace tiers rising above the forehead on a wire frame.","Often with ribbons and lappets hanging down at the back."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Assess a candidate identification against construction, silhouette, and documentary evidence.","Map surviving lace, ribbon, cap, and support components into an explicitly evidenced assembly.","Compare an object with dated depictions without treating artistic representation as a measured pattern.","Plan a supported display that distinguishes surviving structure from modern additions.","Specify a wearable reconstruction with documented assumptions about missing components.","Refer fragile textile or support problems for conservation assessment before manipulation."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Old lace and wire frames break and tear when handled."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["A fontange was worn as fashionable women's headwear in European elite dress during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.","It is encountered in period portraits, surviving dress accessories, museum displays and historical costume reconstruction."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1435851: fontange","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1435851","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Fontange","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontange","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["How did the meanings of fontange, frelange, and commode vary across languages, dates, and historical versus modern catalogues?","What evidence establishes the earliest and latest regional use of the headdress, beyond frequently repeated origin stories?","Which securely documented surviving assemblies establish variation in cap form, upright decoration, ribbons, and trailing elements?","Which stiffening methods and framework materials are demonstrated by examination of originals rather than reconstruction practice?","How reliably can detached lace attributed to a fontange be distinguished from lace reused from other garments or headdresses?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1435851/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1435851/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T09:49:17Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"not-applicable","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:26+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.interfaces":"No specific technical standard, law or official classification is applicable to the historical headdress or hairstyle itself."},"score":1.0}}