Belgian Patriotic Silk and Lace Place Mat, Ghent 1917

This Belgian patriotic silk and lace place mat is a more elaborate wartime remembrance textile, centered on a dark blue silk panel framed by a wide cream lace surround with pale pink joining trim. Embroidered in pink thread across the silk field are the words Belgique, Gand, and 1917, with a central black-and-white shield-like device and four small circular decorative medallions placed near the corners of the panel. Gand is the French name for Ghent, so the inscription translates directly as Belgium, Ghent, 1917. The overall size appears to be approximately 12 1/2 to 13 inches square.

The construction is particularly attractive, with a deep blue silk center that sets off the lighter embroidery and lace border effectively. The outer lace is broad and floral in pattern, while the pink edging creates a visual transition between the silk field and the lace surround. The central shield motif and the four corner medallions suggest a deliberate patriotic design rather than a purely decorative household textile. These details give the piece a stronger visual identity than simpler souvenir mats and make it immediately recognizable as a commemorative wartime object.

Historically, a textile of this kind reflects the civilian memory culture of wartime Belgium. It belongs to the class of small embroidered and lace-trimmed patriotic souvenirs that carried place names, dates, and national references into the domestic sphere. Such objects served as reminders of occupation, endurance, and identity, and they also reflect the continued importance of Belgian lace and needlework traditions during the war years. In that respect, this is not just a decorative mat but an artifact of remembrance, tying a named city and a specific wartime year to a handmade textile form.

The inscription is one of the strongest features of the piece. Belgique translates as Belgium, Gand is Ghent, and 1917 fixes the object firmly within the First World War period. That degree of specificity is highly desirable, since many similar patriotic textiles survive with only general slogans or symbolic motifs. Here the named city and date give the mat a direct historical anchor and add to its interpretive value.

Condition is more delicate here than on the brown example. The blue silk center shows heavy wrinkling and some distortion, with age-related pulling that is plainly visible in the photographs. The pale pink joining trim shows wear and irregularity, and the four circular medallions are darkened and degraded, with visible age-related deterioration to their central decorative elements. The outer lace border remains attractive and substantially intact, though there are scattered pulls, edge wear, and general fragility consistent with a silk-and-lace textile of this age. It is best understood as a fragile but visually strong survivor.

For collectors, this example has particular appeal because of the explicit Ghent attribution, the clear 1917 date, and the stronger color contrast of the blue silk field. It carries real value as a First World War remembrance textile, as a piece of Belgian patriotic domestic art, and as a display object with a distinctly period appearance. It is the kind of item that broadens a militaria collection by showing how wartime identity and memory also survived in civilian decorative form.