Gil,
I have a couple of narrow lace edgings from Sri Lanka which my mother acquired
there probably sometime in the 1970s. I think I also have an illustration of
Sri Lankan bobbins and/or lacemakers in one of my older books about lacemaking.
I’ll look them out and send you pics and details when I get home.
Jean - currently enjoying snow and sunshine in the French Alps
> On 15 Jan 2019, at 16:09, Gilian Dye wrote:
>
> Sri Lanken Lace
>
> Many of the items in my lace collection are of unknown provenance, however
> there are a few pieces that I know are from Sri Lanka. Two are tourist
> pieces, one bought by my sister in 1991, the other by a friend in February
> 2004, a third piece I bought from the* Power of Hands* display at the
> Knitting and Stitching show in London in 2008.
>
> The *Power of Hands Foundation* was established in Gonne in southern Sri
> Lanka after the devastating tsunami in 2004. Women were trained to work
> bobbin lace and to make up items using the lace which can be sold to raise
> much needed funds. Initially sales were mainly to tourists, however in
> 2005, with the support of Andrea Galer and other members of the London film
> an fashion community, contact was established with a film company, and
> Power of Hands is now making collars and other lace items for period films
> such as Jane Eyre. The amount of lace required for such films is more than
> can be provided by the hand workers, so the company has sourced high
> quality machine lace which is used alongside handmade bobbin lace. (Of the
> five other pieces of Sri Lanken lace in my collection, two are machine
> made.)
>
>
>
> I would love to know when and by whom lace was introduced to Sri Lanka
> (Ceylon)? An early note I have was that it was introduced to the country by
> missionaries (I assumed British ones); my sister in 1991 was told by the
> tourist board that it was the Dutch who had introduced the craft, my recent
> research indicates that it was more likely to be a Portuguese import and
> that the Sri Lankan name - beeralu - is Portuguese, but that is
> contradicted by another source which says the word is a local one! (The
> statement that lace was introduced to the country in the 15th century can
> certainly be discounted.) Some say that the lace was taught first to
> fishermen's wives, others that it was the aristocracy who first learned the
> craft. Today I read that it was Malays who introduced the craft. That was
> the first I had heard of any lace connection with Malaysia - so I am
> thoroughly confused!
>
> Does anyone have any reliable information?
>
> Gil
>
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