19th Century Embroidered Eyelet Lace Samples: Over-sized, Double-sided Page (13 Samples) animal shaped or maybe even oil paint

or maybe even oil paint

with a narrow band of striped paper around the perimeter of the lid

And while I took it for a planter

not visible from the exterior--as documented

with a very otherworldly sort of glow to the image

19th Century Embroidered Eyelet Lace Samples: Over-sized, Double-sided Page (13 Samples) animal shaped or maybe even oil paintI believe this is French and dates to the 1870s 80s; the closest example I could find, down to the manner of the numbering, is a whole sample book of eyelet lace in the collection of the Met, though those samples were more neatly trimmed than these! The dealer I purchased this page from described them as swatches of petticoat lace, and indeed that would be a common use for embroidered cotton eyelet lace like this. This of course is much better in hand