Border
1630-1640 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This length of needle lace would probably have been used as a border on a fine linen furnishing, such as a table cover.
Needle lace was being made in England from the later 16th century. It was taught and practised as a domestic embroidery skill, as well as being made in professional workshops. However, needle lace of this high quality and fluid, balanced design would have been imported from Italy. The use of such lace was extensive, and increased with the changes in fashion in clothing and furnishings in the early 17th century.
Needle lace was being made in England from the later 16th century. It was taught and practised as a domestic embroidery skill, as well as being made in professional workshops. However, needle lace of this high quality and fluid, balanced design would have been imported from Italy. The use of such lace was extensive, and increased with the changes in fashion in clothing and furnishings in the early 17th century.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Needle lace worked in linen thread |
| Brief description | Border, needle lace worked in linen thread, Venice, 1630-1640 |
| Physical description | Furnishing border of needle lace (punto-in-aria). Wide border with a vertical pattern of twining flower stems, including columbines and cornflowers, and a variety of others. Repeat of 15.24 inches. The border has been joined in one place across its width, and is unfinished at either end. It has a later bobbin lace footing along one edge, needle lace picots along the other. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Purchased. Registered File number 1993/1991. |
| Historical context | Punto in aria ('stitches in the air') was the name given to the type of needle lace that developed away from the grid structure of cutwork (dependent on the warp and weft of a woven ground). It was worked without the support of a woven ground. This moved it on from being essentially a trimming or means of surface decoration into a fabric in its own right. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This length of needle lace would probably have been used as a border on a fine linen furnishing, such as a table cover. Needle lace was being made in England from the later 16th century. It was taught and practised as a domestic embroidery skill, as well as being made in professional workshops. However, needle lace of this high quality and fluid, balanced design would have been imported from Italy. The use of such lace was extensive, and increased with the changes in fashion in clothing and furnishings in the early 17th century. |
| Bibliographic reference | Patricia Wardle, 75 X Lace, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 2000 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.154-1994 |
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| Record created | January 27, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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