Gwynne plays
it safe saying that "The geometiric features could lead one to believee that
this is a Venetian lace; however, according to one late C20 school of thougth
this is an early Brussels lace."
Do my fellow Arachnids have an opinion on this? If you had the resources of a
lace collection of 5,000 pieces what would you look at to try to get to the
bottom of this mystery?
Well, the first thing I'd do is compare my sources. I would not give Mrs. Bury Palliser's thoughts on the matter much credence in any situation, while Santina Levey had a long and distinguished career in textiles before she wrote her book, had the support and contacts from wide-ranging contacts in the textile world, and had the benefit of modern scientific research methods. It has also already been pointed out on this list that a large number of books in the 1875 - 1940 period merely crib from one another. So the fact that, say, 10 books from that period all say one thing is of little more importance than the fact that one book said it.
The next thing I'd do is to so completely immerse myself in all of the laces of the period in question, that I became completely familiar with the design styles as well as the techniques. As you have access to a large collection you might find many examples that would fit into the period and can see the originals, feel them, weigh them, see their lustre, their hand, and other qualities that don't come through in photographs. You would thus become your own expert.
Along with all of this would come research into the types of threads available and known to be used in different areas, and a good deal of other technical history. After several years of all of this, you might find yourself with your own opinion you can back up with solid fact.
This all brings me back to your initial question, and a question of my own: Why do you want to know? If your main concern is "how do I catalog all of these laces" then why not just write up a report of various opinions and the support for each side, and describe the laces as "origin disputed - see Report #274" or whatever you've called it. Personally if I were going to a museum I would be more interested in a display that covered all the sides to this question and invited me to have my own opinion, than a piece of lace with Flemish? written on the display card.
If, on the other hand, you are bent on solving this mystery once and for all, bear in mind that with all her resources Santina Levey's opinion is just that. But perhaps many years of detailed study throughout Europe might give you a definitive answer. See if you can get funding ;-) ;-)
As for my opinion, I'm plunking my money down on a Flemish origin, based solely on looking at pictures. The designs seem to me to more closely resemble the northern French & Flemish laces than the Italian laces. Earnshaw discounts this, saying the Italians deliberately copied the more successful finer laces of the period and deliberately imported the finer Belgian thread.
Good Grief! - if people go around deliberately making copies with the original materials, how are we ever supposed to figure this out?
Adele North Vancouver, BC (west coast of Canada)
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