Border with Battle Scene

18th century

Border with Battle Scene, 18th century. Russia, 18th century. Cutwork and drawnwork: linen; straight (continuous) bobbin lace (tape lace) edging; overall: 61.1 x 192.5 cm (24 1/16 x 75 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade 1921.596 This valance, a decorative drapery made for attachment at the frame of the bed, was a typical object from the dowry of a bride in eighteenth and nineteenth-century Russia. The valance would have been made for the wedding night of a newlywed couple. The elaborate battle scene rendered in this lace is unusual and exceptional. Handmade lace for marriage dowries was produced in large quantities in Russia during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.