Fragment of a Band with Dragon, Castle, and Vegetation

1500s

Fragment of a Band with Dragon, Castle, and Vegetation, 1500s. Italy, 16th century. Needle lace, burato (twined ground and darned in one direction); bleached linen (est.); overall: 35.7 x 32.5 cm (14 1/16 x 12 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade 1920.1143 The detailed and elegant craftsmanship of this piece of lace clearly delineates the dragon, with its extended tongue, pointy scales along its neck and tail, and clawed feet. To its right is an architectural element, most likely a castle. This piece has a counterpart at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (20.186.359).