Flounce, Venetian Gros Point needle lace, maker unknown, Italy, 1665-1675

This flounce of unbleached linen was made to a typical baroque design of scrolling branches terminating in elaborate stylized flower heads or leaves which were further embellished with raised work, creating a sculptural effect. The design elements fit together very closely so that very few joining bars are necessary. The headside is basically straight, although decorated, and the footside is worked over one edge of a bobbin lace engrelure (a simple narrow lace which protected the more precious needle lace from damage when it was transferred from one garment to another).
Needle laces of this scale were often used for furnishing, or if worn, were arranged flat rather than gathered. All the raised Venetian needle laces of the 1600s were extremely costly, and highly prized for fashion accessories, especially by men, many of whom are on record as selling property to pay for the latest lace fashion. Some said that fine lace was prized because it could not be copied, as diamonds could be with paste. Needless to say the money which went out of other European countries to Italy for lace was a significant drain on their resources.

see also page 8ff at http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/pdf/research/classification.pdf
and page 3ff at http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/pdf/research/glossary.pdf

Rosemary Shepherd - March 2010

The separate motifs fit together very closely so that very few joining bars are necessary. The bobbin lace engrelure (a simple narrow lace which protected the more precious needle lace from damage when it was transferred from one garment to another) was incorporated in the footside edge when the lace was made rather than being a later addition. This was the general practice for needle lace at this time.
Simple, double and triple twisted buttonhole stitches are used to create different textures within the plain areas, and to create different stitch patterns in the more open areas. Patterns are created by leaving out stitches at pre-determined intervals - a technique known as 'voided patterning'. All the shapes have a heavy cordonnet at their edges. Minor elements have a plain cordonnet, while flower heads and some leaves have a heavier tapered cordonnet, which is decorated with buttonholed loops. The few joining bars (brides) are made up of two buttonholed bars side by side, some ornamented by picots. (These may have been worked at the same time as the cordonnet was buttonholed.)

SEM analysis shows that the lace and its engrelure are made of a linen/cotton blend.
The following laces were subjected to SEM analysis by Angharad Rixon in 2001: 24 laces in all

91/2064
93/27/1
93/27/2
93/27/3
93/27/4
93/27/5
93/27/6
93/27/7
93/27/8
A8960
A8961
A9148 -4
A9148-9/1
A9148-10
A9148-11
A9148-14a
A924814b
A9148-15
A9148-16
H3771
H3891
H5111-80
H5111- 81
H6419

Flounce, Venetian Gros Point needle lace, linen-cotton blend, maker unknown, Italy, 1650 - 1675

This flounce of cream linen was made to a typical baroque design of scrolling branches terminating in elaborate stylized flower heads or leaves which are embellished with raised work. The design elements fit together very closely so that very few joining bars are necessary. The headside is basically straight, although decorated.

93/27/8

190 mm

3000 mm