Dear all I promised that I would report back after my visit to a local lace dealer's. The visit was truly a treat, and all because one of our number (I don't remember who) had advertised the web address to us all. Thank you!
The Mendes are professional Lace Dealers, semi-retired, in that they no longer have a commercial shop, but trade via fairs and their web-site. I invited my friends from the Forest lace class to join me in the visit. We were welcomed into the Mendes' home to find a wonderful array of lace that we were able to dip into, handle and examine to our hearts' content. No gloves! First was a box full of 19th century laces. A beautiful and unusually fine example of Teneriffe lace came out first, followed by examples of Brussels Duchesse and some Honiton. Could we tell the difference? I think we learned to! Carrickmacross and Limerick lace teased the mind, and some tamboured laces too, but the selection included examples of most of the laces that interested us. A fine Bedfordshire cap with dangling lappets, a piece of Maltese with interesting plaited hangings at the ends and a lovely collar in Point de Gaze needlelace. Some of the lace was labelled from the collection of the Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, and it was interesting to see this as a sure provenance for the pieces and their dates. There was little in the way of English laces, beyond a few Honiton collars, the Bedfordshire cap and a couple of Bucks edgings, the majority being Brussels and other types of Flemish lace. The quality of every piece was impeccable. A box of earlier date - 18th century mostly - contained Mechlin, which bears great similarity to Bucks Point, and Flemish tape laces, looking very much like the Milanese laces. We discussed the differences between these two laces and established that the Flemish workers tended to pass the spare pairs from the grounds across the back of the prior worked tape lace, when the Milanese workers didn't. There was a Renaissance style tape lace in there too which was useful for comparison, but must also have been contemporary. There were very large lengths of uncut lace, possibly intended for church use, or even never used, in Brussels lace and also Carrickmacross. As enthusiasts as much as dealers, they assured us that they never sold their best pieces unless really pressed to, and then only on to people who knew and cared about what they were buying - other dealers or collectors. They certainly never cut up the lace to sell on as bits. The more we looked at the lace and made intelligent comments, Joachim (Mr Mendes) produced further interesting pieces, including a netted bonnet, a piece of early Flemish Chrysanthemum lace dated 1620, Hollie Point on a baby cap which was quite immaculate, and finally producing some very fine 18th century lappets when time was running out! We ran out of time two and a half hours after arriving after a total feast of lace and chat. For further reference, their website address is: www.mendes.co.uk - it's well worth a visit! - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
