Robin said, "Most people only know what they see for 25 cents/yard at Walmart. How can they appreciate lace with that as their only standard?" This is very true. Another problem with putting high quality lace in front of the public is that it is often the case that the curator may not have the knowledge to recognize what constitutes a good piece of lace. Since lace has been under appreciated, it is often happens that anything lace related is assigned to the youngest and most inexperienced person at the museum. Although the person may be enthusiastic and energetic in trying to do a good job, she or he, may not have any idea how to approach the task. There is a tendency then, to select a piece that is in good condition and has a dramatic figural design. Quite often this results in a piece of machine made lace, or a 19th century piece being put on display, rather than one dating from the early 18th century which might have more exquisite workmanship. I was interested to see at the Flagler that an attempt was made to balance the dramatic laces of the 19th century with pieces of more exquisite workmanship from the 18th century, and the 17th century. The Flagler also had some parasols, and baby garments on display which I found to be absolutely uninteresting from a lace standpoint, but the public seemed to gravitate to them. So, as Arlene points out, what do people choose to look at? Are there stages of lace appreciation, such that a person who is interested in a parasol, then progresses to being interested in a dramatic 19th century piece that is in good condition, and then progresses to going berserk over a fragment that has millions of minute buttonhole stitches in it that would be dismissed as a rag by most people? Early in the process, a lace dealer that I know told me that she puts a piece of dramatic Battenberg out in a prominent place in her booth and that people are drawn to the booth by it. She suggested that I do something like that with the exhibit, to draw people into the room. I think she was afraid that I would put out only the exquisite little pieces that I like, but that would miss the mark for 99% of the viewers and that no one would even enter the room. Interestingly, when people who are not already lace people tell me their favorite piece from the exhibit, it is always the 19th century copy of Gros Point made by the Central Lace School in Austria. It is very dramatic and has three dimensional petals on it. It has exquisite workmanship on it, although not more than the other pieces in my opinion. But it really hits you in the eye. Devon
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