After doing some research, I have a theory that this very fine handmade needle lace medallion was created by an Eduord Marie Verpooten (Edy Verporte), a native of Belgium who lived in Spokane Washington in the late 19th/early 20th century. There is a figural medallion commemorating the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909 held in the collection of the Smithsonian that is very similar in manner, and the closest thing I can find this. It makes sense that such fine work would be done by a Belgian, famous for its lace, and that a maker based in Washington State might represent a figure such as this, which, based on the clothing and headdress, I take for a Native American of the Pacific Northwest. I have included a photo, see what you think!
The fabric it is floated on, inside an archival glass-fronted box/frame, is I believe a late 19th c American printed indigo--which is how I found it. The lace, made of cotton I believe, measures 7 5/8" x 4 5/8" and is in great condition, not at all fragile condition, with a little minor staining/browning here and there. The box frame measures 14 5/8" x 8 1/16" x 1.
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