Dear Jean, I saw Arlene's research on the Spiro mound lace in Oklahoma as well and was absolutely fascinated! Devon Thein informed me that an IOLI member replicated the same piece on a bobbin lace pillow and published it in a Bulletin article back in 2013 or so (pardon, I don't have her name handy). Apparently the Spiro mounds site is working on some sort of exhibition in the future, so hopefully it will be safe to travel by then.
What's especially neat is that the Spiro mounds example is braided/interlaced like bobbin lace, rather than knotted or woven like Andean chancay lace. I had the same thought about lace potentially originating in the Indegenous Americas and traveling to Europe as the timing is fitting, but complex braiding has a pretty global history so it's surprising that more regions didn't develop bobbin lace-style techniques. Certainly exciting food for thought, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Angharad publishes! Best Wishes, Elena - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
