Nathalie Devon and Ilske have both given you good answers. But I want to add some things.
Firstly, the description you give is too narrow, and a bit misleading in some respects. Mechlin and Malines are two names for the same town, in German and in French. There is a ground called "Mechlin" or "Malines" and laces with that ground would be appropriately called "Mechlin" or "Malines", but that geographic area produced other laces with other grounds, and those laces can still be called Mechlin or Malines. Also, as I understand it, that town is located in a territory called Flanders, and therefore some lace historians use the term Flanders to describe all those laces. In Mechlin/Malines/Flanders the design motifs are usually surrounded by a thick thread called a gimp (not wire). The designs are nearly always floral, but there is no restriction as to the number of leaves or petals. Any flower was good enough. Also garlands. In the early 1700s any one of several grounds could be used. Towards the late 1700s and into the 1800s Mechlin ground became the dominant ground. The lace style was revived around 1900, with floral designs and Mechlin ground. Please look at my website for photographs of these laces, sorted out by historical periods. http://lynxlace.com/bbn18th.html http://lynxlace.com/bbn%20napoleonic.html http://lynxlace.com/bbn19thcstraightmesh.html http://lynxlace.com/bbn%20revival%20straight.html Laces of that type existed from about 1700 to the early 1900s (and some modern lacemakers are still working this type). What changes over time is the ground used, the shapes of flowers and leaves, how the design motifs are arranged on the surface of the lace, how long the design repeat is. Lorelei Halley - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
