Seven Centuries of Lace

Seven Centuries of Lace

The idea of giving, by means of photography, full-sized reproductions of my specimens of ancient needle and bobbin-made lace, originated from a desire to avoid unfolding these delicate fabrics when my friends wished to see them. By arranging carefully that several of the photographs should give the exact size of each stitch of the work, seeing and handling the originals have been rendered practically unnecessary. Though many books on lace exist giving most valuable historic, artistic and technical data, none with which I am acquainted give the practical information I have found most desired, that is to say, full-sized representations of the pieces of lace. I therefore think that such reproductions of my specimens may have a wider interest than I had originally imagined, and accordingly I have now prepared them for general publication. It is impossible to judge of lace from a mere picture of pretty and artistic drapery, or from portraits of great personages wearing lace collars or dress trimmings. Lace in pictures has, in the first place, been interpreted by the painter, and no pencil or brush can show more than the general effect. The stitches in the toil, or ground of needle-point lace, amount sometimes to several thousand in every square inch; and the almost incredible fineness of the twists in the rseau of pillow laces makes identification very difficult, unless it is founded on observation of actual portions of the fabric. It can hardly be contested that, apart from some generally accepted[4] deductions as to design and time of execution, the chief means of judging lace correctly lies in studying the toil or clothing, and the groundwork of meshes or rseau. To assist in this, many of the examples of my lace in their actual size, and in some cases greatly enlarged photographs, are given. I have illustrated and described only fabrics which, if not in my possession, have actually come under my observation, such as the two ancient albs of Eastern design, which, although hitherto unnoticed by Italian writers on lace, may, I think, claim to have formed a very interesting link between the Coptic or Egypto-Roman design, and that of the early Italian lace. To aid in a judgment on this point, I also illustrate some designs from early Coptic tombs. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 51863
Author: Pollen, Maria Margaret
Release Date: Apr 26, 2016
Format: eBook
Language: English