Fragment of a Border with Vines and Floral Motifs

1600s

Fragment of a Border with Vines and Floral Motifs, 1600s. Italy, 17th century. Needle lace, filet/lacis (knotted ground and darned in one direction) and bobbin lace edging; bleached and blue dyed linen (est.); overall: 13.5 x 17.4 cm (5 5/16 x 6 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade 1920.1129 The light blue ground of this fragment of lace, together with the varying thicknesses of threads used for the ground and the embroidered pattern, create a sense of depth in the textile. The white thread is bleached linen and the blue is linen that has been bleached and dyed. The word lace derives from the Latin laqueus, meaning noose.