Hi Devon: I took a quick look at Kristensen’s “Tønder Lace: About Lace-making History in Western Sønderjylland from the 17th Century till Today”, and I have are a couple of thoughts for you:
First, the lacemakers weren’t following a set traditional style of lace; they were making what was fashionable and would sell well, and over the centuries they were quick to make Binche, or Arras, or whatever was in vogue. On p. 30 of the Kristensen book, 1800 is given as the date when Lille lace became popular in Sønderjylland; they began to make it and it is from Lille lace that the Tønder lace we recognize today, evolved. Also on page 30 of the book, there is a photo of a Tønder lace pattern, “Strawberry”, that to my eyes has many things in common with your piece. The filling, the tallies grouped in the background, and the look of the cloth stitch all seem to me to be quite like the closeups you have on the IOLI Ning site. If you look at the straight edge of your piece, that edging, taken on its own, has the orderly appearance that we are used to seeing in Tønder lace today. The rest of the design is odd to our eyes, but how often have we seen Tønder lace that attempted to fill in a wide space, rather than just an edging? I know I haven’t seen any attempt at a yardage design other than plain net with little sprigs on it. Maybe it was common at the time, maybe it was something that was tried and didn’t last, or maybe you just happen to have a piece that was a bit of an experiment. As you say, it does look like Pottenkant. Hope this helps. Adele West Vancouver, BC (west coast of Canada) > I have encountered a piece of Tonder lace dating from about 1800. I don’t > doubt that it is Tonder of this date because it was identified by an > expert. However, I have never seen a piece that looked like this. ... Has > anyone ever seen anything comparable to this? What characteristics do you > think identify it as Tonder? I have not found any Copenhagen holes in it, > although that is by no means a requirement for something to be Tonder. > Thoughts? > > I have posted photos on laceioli ning, the identification-history group. > http://laceioli.ning.com/group/identification-history - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
