Karen Thompson and Doris Bowman from the Division of Home and Community Life.

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This round tablecloth is decorated with the American and Belgian shields, and the Whitlock family crest. Mr. Brand Whitlock was the American envoy and later ambassador to Belgium from 1914 to 1921. Mrs. Brand Whitlock worked tirelessly on behalf of the Belgian lace makers during World War I.

The center of the tablecloth is Old Flanders style bobbin lace with needle lace ground. The same lace pattern is used in TE*T14468A and TE*T14468B. A wide border of point de Venise style needle lace surrounds the four shields. Belgian lace makers made this tablecloth during World War I.

This pillow top was designed by the Belgian sculptor Isidore de Rudder (1855-1943). The design of starfish, crabs, and eels inseaweed with the central inscription “1914 Yzer 1915” commemorates a famous battle at the Yzer River, where Belgian engineers prevented the German troops from advancing by manipulating the locks on the Yzer River to flood the surrounding fields.

This pillow top in point de Venise style needle lace was made by Belgian lace makers during World War I. The pattern is preserved in the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels.

This fan leaf is monogrammed A for Belgian King Albert I and E for Queen Elisabeth surmounted by the Belgian royal crowns and encircled by laurel as a symbol for victory. The dates 1914-1915 are on a shield held by the Belgian Lion in the center of the fan leaf below the Belgian and American flags. The names