The Lace Museum

Museum Monday - This small (5 diameter) piece of exquisite Appenzell needlework was made in Switzerland around 1900. Depicted here is a Grimm Brothers fairy tale of a princess whose golden ball was retrieved from a pond by a frog who extracted a promise from the princess for the return of the ball. The lace effect in the background is achieved by pulled and drawn-thread work. Named for the town where it originated, Appenzell needlework was a cottage industry; the skill was passed down the generations. The industry flourished in the early 1900s, when some of the best work was produced. Often pieces will have a soft gray, silver or light blue shadow, which accents the fine stitching. From The Lace Museum Collection

It is believed that needlelace developed from drawn thread embroidery and reticella. Point Plat, or flat point, is one of the Venetian needlelaces. It is worked in similar scrolling patterns to Gros Point, but with smooth instead of padded edges. Occasional decorative fillings add interest to the design. It may have been developed as a slightly less time-consuming version. This Italian 17th century unfinished piece shows the progression of the work and how the lace was begun over the drawn pattern with little couching stitches over cordonnet threads. The motifs are stitched with fillings, and the edging and buttonholed bars are added to connect the motifs. From the National Gallery of Victoria https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au

Mechlin, Valenciennes and Lille laces were made in Lille, France, formerly Flanders. It was distinguished as a lacemaking city as far back as 1582. Lille bobbin lace is a continuous or straight lace with the solid cloth stitch pattern outlined with a thicker thread. This Lille cotton/linen border trim from 1901-35 is a design of curving floral sprays which almost fill the fine mesh ground accented with tiny square dots (tallies), honeycomb filling stitches and a row of small trefoil shapes in the hexagonal mesh ground. The straight edge is decorated with picots. It is 62 x 340mm. From the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences https://maas.museum

By the mid-17th century, Venice was well known for its needlelaces. From the deeply three-dimensional Gros Point de Venise, to the lighter Rose Point, delicate Point de Neige and flat Point Plat - Venetian needlelaces became the most expensive, prestigious and desirable fashion lace in Europe overtaking Flemish lace. The patterns were raised by outlining the design with a heavier thread, a bundle of threads or horsehair, then covered with dense buttonhole stitches. This Venetian linen fragment is from the late 17th to early 18th century and features curving, scrolling patterns and buttonholed bars with picots to connect the motifs worked in relief. It is 3 x 10 3/4 and is from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. www.lacma.org

Punto Antico is relatively new term meaning Antique Stitch, and encompasses traditional techniques of needlework and needlelace used in Italy for centuries. It is often paired with Reticello, Aemilia Ars and Punto in Aria. In this stunningly detailed Italian border from the late 16th-early 17th century, cutwork and various embroidery and lace stitches are combined into a 19 x 7 1/4 beauty. Among them Punto Riccio (curl stitch), Punto Reale (satin stitch), Reticello (or Reticella, needlelace using some fabric threads as a grid), Punto in Aria (literally Stitch in Air, developed from Reticella, is needlelace stitched without using the fabric’s threads). From The Met https://www.metmuseum.org

Cathleen, one of the students in Louise Colgan's annual Milanese at the Museum workshop has shared her finished paisley with us. Nice work, Cathleen!

Speaking of lace purses, how about this early 20th century Irish Crochet purse from Ireland? The 3-dimensional lace is a wonderful accent for accessories. The motifs are worked separately and arranged on paper or fabric, then, the mesh is worked to join them. There are often padded areas or crochet over thicker cord for a raised edge. The Irish Crochet lace cottage industry is credited with helping many families through the potato famine (beginning in 1845), when schools were... started to teach it to women and girls. Soon, it became a cottage industry and women became the primary wage earners for their households. Large groups gathered to make elaborate crocheted lace pieces. When Queen Victoria, who also learned to crochet herself, promoted the lace at an arts exposition in London, the demand took off. The business of lacemaking changed from a resourceful survival skill into an industry. From the Philadelphia Museum of Art https://www.philamuseum.org See more

Here’s the finish!

The Brooklyn Lace Guild shared this and another post we love.

Made in Britain by Minna Paiba for her first son, this circumcision gown of linen made in 1870-9 was used by generations of the family. The central panel has machine lace and embroidery. The long elaborate gown would have added dignity to the ritual. Notice the multiple rows of different lace and stitches used in the embroidery and how they provide contrast. From the Victoria and Albert Museum https://www.vam.ac.uk

The Vologda area of Russia developed a style of bobbin tape lace joined with fine threads or brides on a lace pillow. The tape is made with bobbins at the same time as the rest of the lace. Flax was grown in the area and was manufactured into a very fine linen thread. Vologda lacemaking started in the 16th and 17th centuries, but became famous from the 17th century. After the 1917 revolution, schools were set up to improve design standards under communist rule. This panel (made between 1930 & 1935) has both the traditional floral designs at each end and the communist motifs of star, hammer and sickle. It may have been commissioned by Aeroflot and used as a border for an antimacassar for the back of the seat. From the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences https://maas.museum

Filet lace is one of the oldest techniques for lacemaking. The earliest decorated nets used the knotted net known as ‘filet’ in French and ‘Lacis’ in Italian and made by darning designs into the net. It became known by several other names depending upon the locality and period. In this piece from France, c. 1610-1640, there are 24 squares of square netting alternating with 24 squares of linen with cut and drawn thread work, embroidered with many different stitches, needle lace filling stitches and edged with bobbin straight lace (created in one continuous process). There are many types of animals (both real and mythical), figures, flowers and vegetation in this wonderful 41 1/2 X 54 cover. From the Art Institute of Chicago https://www.artic.edu

Honiton bobbin lace incorporates a variety of stitches in its motifs, which can be joined either by a mesh ground, as you see here, or bars of plaited threads. This fan leaf was made by Emma Radford (1837-1901), a prize-winning designer and lacemaker in her native Devon, England. A typically Honiton naturalistic design, it has flowers, blackberries, foliage and butterflies. It is said that a square inch of a very fine Honiton can take 10 hours to make. She was awarded Second Prize (Class I, Section II) at the Exhibition of the Fan-makers' Company in 1878 for this piece. From the Victoria and Albert Museum https://www.vam.ac.uk

Museum Monday - This October, we are presenting lace from the Museum collection available for sponsorship. Sponsorship of lace helps the Museum with operating expenses and funds continual improvements to the storage and preservation of our collection. This Hairpin lace cocktail dress, circa 1950s, made of rayon ribbon (instead of thread or yarn) hairpin lace crocheted together, and is one of the collection pieces available for sponsorship. In the picture, you can see the ver...tical strips of lace, where they are crocheted together and the scalloped effect made by curving the lace strips. Numerous Hairpin lace patterns and instruction are available online, going back to the late 1890s. Antique books also refer to Maltese hairpin lace, which has Hairpin lace and traditional crochet in the designs. https://the-lace-museum-shop.myshopify.com//cocktail-dress For more information about sponsorship: https://www.thelacemuseum.org/sponsor-lace.html Or contact us by email at: [email protected] See more

Bust of Maria Barberino Duglioli,(Pope Urban VIII's niece), by Italian sculptor Giuliano Finelli, 1627. Finelli was renowned for his exquisite creation of text...ures and details on his marble sculptures - no computers, no electric machines or nanometer-precise programs, only hammer, chisel and brilliant technique. Portrait busts of women have always been comparatively rare, and Finelli's work in this case conformed to the accepted formula of that era, focusing on the accessories, leaving the expression vague and the eyes blank; the bust also raised the standard for female portraits, becoming a touchstone for subsequent works.

Originally, Binche bobbin lace resembled Valenciennes lace. Binche is now described as a continuous lace featuring snowball and other mesh grounds, small areas of cloth and half stitch and groups of tiny tallies (dense little spots of woven threads). It is also sometimes known as Fairy lace. The principal design of this painted paper central medallion on the Binche lace fan is a scene of a man presenting a flower to a woman with another woman watching. The reverse painted design is of a shepherdess with a staff. The 16 carved and pierced ivory sticks are so charming, and they have mother of pearl backing. In the pictures, you can see the light look of the lace, even thought very detailed, densely patterned. From the Museum of Fine Arts Boston https://www.mfa.org