Re: [lace] Dutch Lace Pillow Question

[Elena Kanagy-Loux]

Dear Adele,

I have read about the use of a little scrap of fabric or bag used to hold
the finished lace while you are still working. Apparently it was typically
dark blue to keep the lace bright white (an old laundress's trick, add blue
dye to your whites). Perhaps dark blue could appear black in a shadowy
painting?
Very interesting indeed!

Best,
Elena

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Re: [lace] Dutch Lace Pillow Question

[Devon Thein]

Dear Adele,
That is a very interesting idea. Looking closely at the Old Lacemaker and
the "attributed to Gabriel Metsu" paintings, it appears that they have
something like you describe on them too.
Devon


>
>
>
> On Sep 4, 2019, at 9:56 AM, Devon Thein  wrote:
>
> I have no idea what purpose the black appendage on the top of the pillow
> serves. It doesn't look like the sort of thing that you wind finished lace
> on, or protect finished lace in.
>
>
>

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Re: [lace] Dutch Lace Pillow Question

[Adele Shaak]

Hi Devon:
I’ve taken a look at this weird little thing in extreme closeup. If it’s a
decoration it is odd that it is completely plain. I am struck by the fact that
it is in line with the pricking, and it covers the space between the top of
the pricking and the drawer opening, and I wonder if it could be just a piece
of cloth (it’s not black, more of a dark green, maybe a piece of velvet?)
meant to cover the completed lace from the time it leaves the pricking until
it reaches the safety of the little drawer.

Adele
West Vancouver, BC
(west coast of Canada)



> On Sep 4, 2019, at 9:56 AM, Devon Thein  wrote:
>
> I have no idea what purpose the black appendage on the top of the pillow
> serves. It doesn't look like the sort of thing that you wind finished lace
> on, or protect finished lace in.

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Re: [lace] Dutch Lace Pillow Question

[Devon Thein]

Interestingly, it seems Maes used exactly the same pillow in his painting
of the Old Lacemaker in the Mauritshaus Museum.
https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/explore/the-collection/artworks/the-old-lacemak
er-1101/#
  Perhaps it was a family possession? The pillow is the same even to the
hanging scissors. But, the Old Lacemaker appears to be using a stand,
whereas the Met's lacemaker clearly is not. Also, interesting, the Old
Lacemaker is wearing glasses!

There is another Maes painting in the National Gallery of Canada that looks
like it may rely on the same pillow, this time used on a table.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicolaes_Maes,_Lacemaker.JPG

Also in the Fine Arts Museum in Belgium there is a similar pillow in
painting by Maes of a Dozing Old Woman.
https://www.fine-arts-museum.be/nl/de-collectie/nicolaes-maes-ingedutte-oude-
vrouw?artist=maes-nicolaes-1

In the Guildhall Gallery in London there is another Maes, of a Woman
Sewing. She appears to have the same lace pillow but from another angle.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicolaes_Maes,_Young_Woman_Sewing,_16
55.jpg

Also there is a painting in the Kunsthistorische Museum “attributed to
Gabriel Metsu” that looks quite similar.
https://www.khm.at/objektdb/detail/1215/


Devon


>>

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Re: [lace] Dutch Lace Pillow Question

[The Lace Bee]

Elana

I used to dress up as the lacemaker in this painting.

https://m.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30098126

Sent from my iPad

> 
>> Hello everyone,
>> 
>> I have a question about lace pillows in the 17th century Dutch Republic
>> that I hope you can help me with.
>> 
>> I'm giving a talk at the end of the week on lacemaking in Holland in the
>> 17th century, focusing mainly around Nicolaes Maes's 1656 portrait "The
>> Lacemaker" (as seen at the link).
>> 

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Re: [lace] Dutch Lace Pillow Question

[Devon Thein]

Debbie Stoller,
I would say that the pillows are not exactly the same because the one you
show has a "lectern-like" base, a term I have now read in the English
translation of the bobbin and pillow book which I would not have remembered
that I have had Diane not mentioned it. The pillow in the Maes painting
seems to me entirely flat on the bottom. Also it is more deeply curved,
almost like a bolster cut in half. I think the one in the painting that you
sent would be easier to work on.
Devon


>

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Re: [lace] Dutch Lace Pillow Question

[Debbie Stoller]

This lady has the same exact kind of half-circle pillow:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dd/79/a7/dd79a713eed7a7ddc027022a2535c972.jpg



> On Sep 4, 2019, at 12:56 PM, Devon Thein  wrote:
>
> Dear Elena,
> There is a book, Kloppel, Kissen, Stander about pillows, bobbins and
> stands. Unfortunately it is in German. It does not have a pillow exactly
> like this one, although there are similar ones. The book, as far as I can
> tell physically describes the photos of the pillows and I don't think there
> is a lot of description beyond what is available to the eye. Interestingly,
> most of the Belgian pillows, which this resembles, have stands, as does the
> pillow in Vermeer's Lacemaker. Years ago, I was in a class with Maria
> Provencher. Someone did not have a stand and she suggested that they hold
> the pillow in their lap and put a stool under their feet, saying that this
> was how the Belgian lacemakers often worked and that it was a very
> comfortable position that they could hold for hours. I cannot tell if the
> lacemaker has a small stool under her feet. Perhaps you can tell from the
> painting. I think she might.
> I can't really read the text in the book, but I can try to describe the
> pillow in the painting. I invite others to correct this description or to
> add to it.
> I would say:the pillow is a nicely decorated version of a utilitarian
> object. Perhaps it was a special gift.  As you can see from the painting,
> there is a drawer in it (facing the viewer) that can be used to store tools
> and other objects, although the worker seems to have her scissors suspended
> from the pillow or her dress, undoubtedly signalling that they are used
> more than any other tool. The pillow is sloped on either side and maybe
> also on the part closest to the worker. The allows gravity to assist in the
> tensioning of the threads.  Although the worker appears to be making a
> straight border, she is not using a roller for her work surface. Presumably
> she will have to move the work up from time to time, which seems a little
> bit cumbersome. I don't know if they didn't have roller pillows in this era
> or if the artist thought it would be a less effective painting. It looks to
> me as though she is trying to shorten the thread on her bobbin, possibly by
> using a pin to loosen the hitch on the bobbin so that she can roll the
> thread onto it, turning the bobbin toward the pillow. I expect that she
> uses the continental way of winding the bobbins, which is what I use. So,
> she would hold the bobbin that way when shortening, turning it horizontally
> the opposite way when lengthening it.
> The bobbins are bulbed bobbins which are common on the continent, verses
> the straight spangled bobbins of the English. Bulbed bobbins allow the
> worker to tension easily by tugging the bobbin slightly when ever she picks
> it up.
> I have no idea what purpose the black appendage on the top of the pillow
> serves. It doesn't look like the sort of thing that you wind finished lace
> on, or protect finished lace in. Maybe it is simply decorative?
> What have I left out or gotten wrong?
> Devon
>
>
>>
>>
>
> -
> To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line:
> unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to
> arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site:
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/

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Re: [lace] Dutch Lace Pillow Question

[Devon Thein]

Dear Elena,
There is a book, Kloppel, Kissen, Stander about pillows, bobbins and
stands. Unfortunately it is in German. It does not have a pillow exactly
like this one, although there are similar ones. The book, as far as I can
tell physically describes the photos of the pillows and I don't think there
is a lot of description beyond what is available to the eye. Interestingly,
most of the Belgian pillows, which this resembles, have stands, as does the
pillow in Vermeer's Lacemaker. Years ago, I was in a class with Maria
Provencher. Someone did not have a stand and she suggested that they hold
the pillow in their lap and put a stool under their feet, saying that this
was how the Belgian lacemakers often worked and that it was a very
comfortable position that they could hold for hours. I cannot tell if the
lacemaker has a small stool under her feet. Perhaps you can tell from the
painting. I think she might.
I can't really read the text in the book, but I can try to describe the
pillow in the painting. I invite others to correct this description or to
add to it.
I would say:the pillow is a nicely decorated version of a utilitarian
object. Perhaps it was a special gift.  As you can see from the painting,
there is a drawer in it (facing the viewer) that can be used to store tools
and other objects, although the worker seems to have her scissors suspended
from the pillow or her dress, undoubtedly signalling that they are used
more than any other tool. The pillow is sloped on either side and maybe
also on the part closest to the worker. The allows gravity to assist in the
tensioning of the threads.  Although the worker appears to be making a
straight border, she is not using a roller for her work surface. Presumably
she will have to move the work up from time to time, which seems a little
bit cumbersome. I don't know if they didn't have roller pillows in this era
or if the artist thought it would be a less effective painting. It looks to
me as though she is trying to shorten the thread on her bobbin, possibly by
using a pin to loosen the hitch on the bobbin so that she can roll the
thread onto it, turning the bobbin toward the pillow. I expect that she
uses the continental way of winding the bobbins, which is what I use. So,
she would hold the bobbin that way when shortening, turning it horizontally
the opposite way when lengthening it.
The bobbins are bulbed bobbins which are common on the continent, verses
the straight spangled bobbins of the English. Bulbed bobbins allow the
worker to tension easily by tugging the bobbin slightly when ever she picks
it up.
I have no idea what purpose the black appendage on the top of the pillow
serves. It doesn't look like the sort of thing that you wind finished lace
on, or protect finished lace in. Maybe it is simply decorative?
What have I left out or gotten wrong?
Devon


>
>

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Re: [lace] Dutch Lace Pillow Question

[Maria Greil]

Hello Elena,

The only information I could find is a book in German, which was edited in
2002, about the collection of (Hannelore Schulte of) old lace pillows in
Europe. I am sending a picture of the cover page to you privately.
I wish you the very best of success regarding your talk

Regards,
Maria Greil
a German lace maker living in Spain

El mié., 4 sept. 2019 a las 18:10, Elena Kanagy-Loux (<
enkanagyl...@gmail.com>) escribió:

> Hello everyone,
>
> I have a question about lace pillows in the 17th century Dutch Republic
> that I hope you can help me with.
>
> I'm giving a talk at the end of the week on lacemaking in Holland in the
> 17th century, focusing mainly around Nicolaes Maes's 1656 portrait "The
> Lacemaker" (as seen at the link).
>
>
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436932?=All
y=Relevance=the+lacemaker=0=20pos=1
>
>
> Although I have combed through several books that discuss global bobbin
> pillow types (such as Gertrude Whiting's Tools and Toys of Stitchery) there
> is not much information on Dutch pillows.The pillow pictured appears to be
> similar to one of the Belgian pillows pictured in Whiting's book, which
> makes sense, but there is not much detail about it. It is certainly I type
> I have seen depicted but not described often.
>
> Can anyone point me towards more specific information?
>
> Thank you very much!
> All the Best,
> Elena
>
> -
> To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line:
> unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to
> arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site:
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
>

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[lace] Dutch Lace Pillow Question

[Elena Kanagy-Loux]

Hello everyone,

I have a question about lace pillows in the 17th century Dutch Republic
that I hope you can help me with.

I'm giving a talk at the end of the week on lacemaking in Holland in the
17th century, focusing mainly around Nicolaes Maes's 1656 portrait "The
Lacemaker" (as seen at the link).
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436932?=All=Relevance=the+lacemaker=0=20pos=1


Although I have combed through several books that discuss global bobbin
pillow types (such as Gertrude Whiting's Tools and Toys of Stitchery) there
is not much information on Dutch pillows.The pillow pictured appears to be
similar to one of the Belgian pillows pictured in Whiting's book, which
makes sense, but there is not much detail about it. It is certainly I type
I have seen depicted but not described often.

Can anyone point me towards more specific information?

Thank you very much!
All the Best,
Elena

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To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line:
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arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site:
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