fontange

Fontange referent

Record the referent intended by each source rather than assuming that every use names an identical assembly.

1. Does this source use fontange for the complete headdress, its textile decoration, or the associated hairstyle? definition
2. Which physical components does the registry instance include, and which are separately associated objects? boundary

Candidate discrimination

Use the relationship between cap, raised decoration, and support to assess candidates, allowing incomplete survival.

1. What evidence connects this object to an upright lace-and-ribbon headdress rather than another lace cap? boundary
2. Who assigned the fontange identification, and what object examination or comparison supports it? provenance

Profile evidence

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/)

1. Which folds, tiers, or upright sections survive, and which are inferred from depictions? definition
2. What is the arrangement's height above a stated head reference in its documented mounted configuration? measurement

Wearing configuration

Treat head placement and hair support as evidenced relationships rather than filling gaps with a modern styling convention.

1. What evidence establishes the front, back, and intended head position of the surviving components? definition
2. Which hair arrangement or attachment surface is needed for the proposed reconstruction, and what supports that choice? action

Lace identification

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)

1. Which lace techniques, fabric structures, and ribbon materials are identified through examination rather than visual guesswork? definition
2. What are the dimensions of each surviving textile component when supported without stretching? measurement

Support and attachment map

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/)

1. Which wires, stitches, ties, pin traces, or other attachment features survive, and what does each connect? definition
2. Which supports and joins are original, later repairs, or modern display additions? provenance
3. What evidence supports any proposed stiffening or missing framework? provenance

Attribution chain

Record each date and geographic attribution with its evidential basis and qualifiers.

1. Does the proposed date apply to lace manufacture, headdress assembly, documented wearing, or later alteration? provenance
2. What supports the attributed production location, and is it being confused with the place of use or collection? boundary

Reconstruction confidence

For each reconstructed feature, distinguish direct object evidence, visual comparison, and practical conjecture.

1. Which dated depiction supports each proposed missing fold, ribbon, cap section, or support? provenance
2. Which features remain invisible or ambiguous because of the depiction's viewpoint or stylization? boundary
3. How will a reconstruction identify its conjectural components to viewers or users? action

Structural vulnerabilities

Record condition at folds, joins, and textile-support contacts without assuming that every object contains metal.

1. Where are tears, weakened threads, crushed folds, or detached joins relative to the proposed upright arrangement? measurement
2. If wire survives, is deformation, exposure, or corrosion affecting adjacent textile? definition
3. Which intended positioning or handling steps require a textile conservator's assessment? action

Supported presentation

Document how a mount or replica demonstrates the fontange's form without presenting modern supporting work as historical evidence.

1. Can a mount support the raised lace without tension on original edges, joins, or attachment points? action
2. Should wearing and dressing demonstrations use a replica given the surviving object's condition and collection restrictions? action
3. Which portions of the displayed silhouette come from modern mount geometry rather than surviving construction? boundary

Check these first

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these check these first hold for the sense of fontange this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Real-world use

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of fontange this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Failure modes and hazards

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of fontange this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Regional variation

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of fontange this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of fontange this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance