[lace] Re: Lace Museums in France 3
Dear LAcefriends, Sorry for the delay but life isn't only lace. Hope I could finish it today. A bit more south we find Alencon and the Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle. The other fantastic needle-lace museum. Here also a very fine done video and a big room full of fantastic laces in different techniques. All this in the second floor. Have a look at the first floor as well. there are the paintings. One of them showar a fairy tale about a poor lacemaker. The story is written there. At the ground floor the temporary exhibitions take part. At the moment a big fashion show with the titleFroufrous La Mode en dentelle de1865 à 1905. Dresses and other things from noble people and rich normal people. But not only the big evening dresses also the things they wear at home. Very interesting. The next day we reached Luxeuil-les-Bains in the east near Belfort. Those of you who are on the list since five years remember perhaps my report from that time. there take part a festival for lacefriends if needle-, bobbin- or mixed lace. The theme was The four Seasons for the exhibitions, for the fashion show and for the competition. People from whole Europe were there. For the fashion show Gabrielle Sonntag, the director worked together with a school class. The pupils designed and worked dresses and trousers for the four seasons and showed them themselves at the fashion show. During the other time all those things were in the exhibition room. Two very interesting lectures/discutions were held. And all the members worked in the conservatory or at the sales room to show the visitors how Luxeuil-lace is done. It's a mixed lace with machine made braids and handmade needle-lace stiches. The little museum is open every tuesday and friday. After some days there we traveled northwords to Chantilly. All these wonderful old laces, dresses,fans and other things Still house in only one room and can't be shown as they should. But it is a treasure and if you are in France don't miss it. Another wonderful museum is La Musée national de la Renaissance au Château d'Ecouen. The laces there are breathtaking and I was lucky to be alone in there. The museum has fine tapesteries, paintings and furnitures from that time as well. That's it, have a wonderful weekend Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: Lace Museums in France 2 (very long)
Hello Lacefriends, Let's go along with the subject. From Bayeux it isn't a long way to Courseulles sur Mer. We arrived just before the Musée du Vieux C. And the lady was very sad to tell me that there aren't lots of laces. but I looked at them and found some interesting caps for folk-costumes, some lovely Chantilly laces, big drawings for a huge shawl and a few other lace related things. the rest of the museum is about all the other things belonging to this region during the last centuries. We call such a museum Heimatmuseum. The lady who was probably the director of the museum tried during that time to fone to the family which hosts the Polychrome Chantilly Laces. But again didn't get an answer. I heard from a lacefriend that the man died in january and since that time his widow doesn't appear in public neither answer the fone. that's a pity because this is the onliest point we could see such laces. I told everybody I met in Luxeuil and we discussed what to do. Perhaps somebody of you has an idea. So we drove back to Caen sad and a bit soughtful. And Dp didn't know what to say. We spent the afternoon at the museum of Caen. This museum shows the history and the cafts and trades of the town. So a bit of lace too. There you find a dress and a shawl totally from Blonde-lace, a dress for a bride. Unhappily there isn't a lot of light. Nearby some marriage thigs with or without lace. Bonnets for folk costumes in another corner and the story from Rose Durand who after 1927 tried to give children lace lessons. The next day I reached needle-lace-friends paradise. South east of Caen you find Argentan. A lovely little French town. A bit outside the center situated in a beautifull garden with the lake Noé behind you find a very nice middle-class house from the XIX cent. Today the House of Laces. It was closed for renovation and had just opened the first of june. On the rez-de-chaussee you find not only breathtaking Argentan- and Alencon-laces but the needle lace history beginning with Punto in Aria and Reticella. One of the pieces, very long and about 30 cm broad looked as if it is 5 cm high so three-dimesional because of the delicate way to put the different points together and because of the dent de loup - wolf-tooth. Do you know what this is If not I'll explain tomorrow. They explain very understandeble the differnce between the both needle laces starting with the Point Royal de France and so on. The laces have wonderful describtion and for those not understanding French they have sheets in other languages. And in a correct language. Because DP doesn't speak French he got an English one, the German one wasn't ready at that day. On the first floor you find a collection of different bobbin lace pieces and in another room machine made laces. And they explain that those laces not only replaced the hand made but got their names as well. And today the name Calais Lace was synonym for Mechanical Lace. Before or at the end you can look at the video, which is really good but only in French. And you can take some of the treasures with you in form of postcards. I have never seen such a selection. Also books and lace things but machine made ones. By the way at the end I'll write you all the adresses on a list. Greetings for today Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: lace museums in France
Dear Ilske, Thank you for your posting about museums in France. I hope to be in the Caen/Bayeaux area over Christmas week this year as my DD will be teaching English in the Rouen school district until May 2007. We are hoping to rent a gite for the week, possibly in Honfleur. Does anyone know if places close down during the week after Christmas Day? I am also looking in the Alencon area where I thought I visited a lace shop/school when we were there a few years ago, DH seems to think it was a different town. Janice Janice Blair Crystal Lake, 50 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois, USA http://www.lacemakersofillinois.org/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: lace museums in France
Dear Lacefriends, Just back from an exciting lace-travel for me and some other things for DP from France I'll try to send you my experiences. First I was invited by a lace-friend to see her collection of lace pillows. This was near Cologne in Germany. After that we took our way to Caen. There we had a room with the window to the race court. There wasn't a race but we saw the training one morning. The next day we went to Bayeux. A lovely old town with a huge cathedreal and nearby the Musée Baron Gérard which is actually closed till 2010 for renovation. But parts of it house on the other side of the cathedreal in another old and lovely house. In several glass vitrines beautiful laces. A big part from the collection of this Baron Gérard born in 1770, his mother was Italiennne and his father French (like yesterday evening). He lives most of its lifetime in Rome as a diplomate. So most of its laces are from the time 1830 till 1880 and made in the manufacture of Auguste Lefébure. One of the brothers Lefèbure from Belgique, Grammont. And are Blonde or Chantilly-lace. To start at the beginning, in this region lacemaking is known since 1650 and tilll French revolution mostly in so called Hôtel-Dieu or Couvent de la Charité. What means under church care. Still under Louis XIV Colbert formed manufacturies. Around 1830 there were 15 000 people making lace for their living. In 1829 August Lefébure opend his manufature. And in 1891 the big crash was there too after the machines were able to imitate Chantilly-lace, so that at that time there were no more than 72 lacemakers. In one of the vitrines you can see the original painting of The lacemaker from Penrose. In other ones laces in Torchon technique done in cotton only for underwear. And laces for bonnets from the time between 1860 and 1900. And a lot of other lace pieces in different lace techniques. And a few of these original designs for this huge shawls. It was a real pleasure. Next point, the manufacture. There also wonderful old laces are to seen but also some very modern ones. One of them this famous evening-dress whose whole upper part is done in lace for the house of Pierre Balmain a few ears ago. You can buy there silk, by the way this one some of you are looking for for an IOLI-class, also lovely bobbins, small books with patterns. nearby is a shop selling old handmade lace and other things. Very expensive and not all handmade if I am right. Than down the center the Tapestery of Bayeux. You know this famous embroidered tapestery on which the live of Guillaume-le Conquérant is shown. It's a must it's breathtaking believe me. DP is hungry and if I am honest I too so I must stop here for today. Greetings Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
