In regard to the discussion of Regency Bucks and the pieces shown on lacenews: If somebody had asked me to date the first piece at the start of the article, without any discussion of where it was made, I would have dated it 1820 at the earliest and 1840 probably the latest. I would assign that time stretch based on the length of the repeat, the size of the motifs, and the motif that is entirely enclosed by ground. I am assuming that most elements of style cross national boundaries and that English laces of the early 1800s would be similar in many stylistic elements to continental laces. Continental laces of 1820 - 1830 would have a medium length repeat, about the same as this piece or a little shorter, and might have a moderately complex motif spotted on the ground (like this). The edge would be scalloped (probably more than this piece). By the 1830s -1840s the tightly coiled motifs of the early 1800s would have relaxed into shapes much like those in this piece.
I am not claiming I know anything about Regency Bucks. But there are several factors to look at in dating a piece of lace, and some are purely stylistic, and fashion drives style (and therefore changes over time): is the edge straight or scalloped, and how deeply scalloped how long is the repeat what proportion of the surface is motifs and what proportion is ground kind of thread - linen, cotton, silk shape of motifs (a good way to distinguish laces designed in the 20th & 21st c from their 18th c precursors) And after all those criteria, there are the ones which are technical referring to the details of how the piece was made (how threads feed into and out of cloth trails and motifs, etc.) The internal gimps in this piece are interesting, and the reference to Lester lace occurred to me, also. And there was a period when Beds of the last half of the 19th century had significant areas of fillings inside trails or near the headside which were point ground, while braided/plaited ground occupied the area between the motifs and the footside. This is what is so fascinating about studying bobbin lace history, the succession of styles, when they appeared, how they changed. People are constantly looking at other laces, being struck by good ideas, and incorporating those ideas into new designs. It makes discussions involved and argumentative, and nearly endless. It drives you crazy. People just will not stay within the lines! Lorelei Halley - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
