Re: [lace] "Four Great Lace Collections" & Threads of Power exhibit
An answer! So, I wrote to the author of the WSJ article, letting her know that some lacemakers were having a lively discussion about what the other three lace collections were and here's what she wrote: Dear Arlene, According to the pamphlet I received from the curators who organized "Threads of Power," the other three great lace collections are at: âMetropolitan Museum of Art in NYCâVictoria and Albert Museum, LondonâMuseum für angewandte Kunst in Vienna All best,Laura On Tuesday, November 1, 2022, 12:43:55 PM EDT, Alix Hengen wrote: In France usually the linen thread was imported from Belgium, they were most renowned for there quality , France had a production too, but essentially in northern France (alencon) they used the Belgian threads . Alix from Luxembourg - 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/
Re: [lace] "Four Great Lace Collections" & Threads of Power exhibit
Thanks, Nancy & Anne. That’s what I thought, plus that the early machines spun cotton and wool, is that correct? And yes, I am not close to my library either, but Pat Earnshaw’s thread book is subtitled ‘From Source to Sink’ if I remember correctly? I also had understood that early flax produced finer fibers which were lost. I have recently acquired some old and very fine flax stricks from Christiane Seufferlein, an Austrian who was gifted stricks from the descendants of a woman called ‘Berta’. Word got around plus an article was published in a UK journal for spinners and weavers resulting in many other families gifting Christiane with old flax stricks from doweries of ancestors. She has created a Facebook group called ‘Berta’s Flax’ named after this first flax gift, and is sharing all this flax with spinners all over the world for just the cost of postage. The flax I received is much finer than any I have seen before and I am anxious to see how fine a thread I can spin and hopefully use to make lace. Discussion in the group seems to suggest that the potential fineness may also depend upon the point at which the plant is harvested, as well as the subsequent steps (retting, breaking, scutching, etc.) Vicki in Maryland Sent from my iPhone - 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/
Re: [lace] "Four Great Lace Collections" & Threads of Power exhibit
Yes most definitely the thread for lace was hand spun. The early needle laces were made using hand spun linens which have long fibres. Anna from a windy Sydney who has just learnt to spin wool Sent from my iPad > On 1 Nov 2022, at 9:57 pm, Vicki Bradford wrote: > > Hi Devon & all, > I’m not sure if this will make it to the list because I’m one of those > hangers-on still using AOL, but on a somewhat off-topic point, I was taken by > Devon’s comments about how fine some lace threads were. While visiting the > V some years ago, the same thoughts occurred to me. As a spinner as well as > a lacemaker, it also struck me that as fine as the threads were, they were > also most likely at least two-ply, thus making the observation even more > amazing. As far as I can find, the first machine spinning originated with the > invention of the Spinning Jenny in around 1765, but some information suggests > that the thread produced from these machines was coarse and not strong. In any > case, earlier laces would then most likely have used handspun thread? What do > others think? > > Vicki in Maryland > > - > 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/ - 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/
Re: [lace] "Four Great Lace Collections" & Threads of Power exhibit
Hi Vicki et al., The very fine thread in the late 17th and early 18th C was all handspun linen, made from flax from cultivars that produced very fine and long fibers. These cultivars were completely destroyed during the French revolution, so very fine thread could not be produced again until fine cotton thread from better spinning technology and the import of long-staple cotton. I don't have a reference for these assertions right now (I'm sitting in the Archaeology Museum in Heraklion, Crete, so rather far from my library :-D), but I think the info is in Pat Earnshaw's book (do I remember correctly that there's one specifically on thread?) Nancy On Tue, Nov 1, 2022, 12:56 Vicki Bradford wrote: > ... As a spinner as well as a lacemaker, it also struck me that as fine as > the threads were, they were also most likely at least two-ply, thus making > the observation even more amazing. As far as I can find, the first machine > spinning originated with the invention of the Spinning Jenny in around > 1765, but some information suggests that the thread produced from these > machines was coarse and not strong. In any case, earlier laces would then > most likely have used handspun thread? ... > > - 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/
Re: [lace] "Four Great Lace Collections" & Threads of Power exhibit
Hi Devon & all, I’m not sure if this will make it to the list because I’m one of those hangers-on still using AOL, but on a somewhat off-topic point, I was taken by Devon’s comments about how fine some lace threads were. While visiting the V some years ago, the same thoughts occurred to me. As a spinner as well as a lacemaker, it also struck me that as fine as the threads were, they were also most likely at least two-ply, thus making the observation even more amazing. As far as I can find, the first machine spinning originated with the invention of the Spinning Jenny in around 1765, but some information suggests that the thread produced from these machines was coarse and not strong. In any case, earlier laces would then most likely have used handspun thread? What do others think? Vicki in Maryland - 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/
RE: [lace] "Four Great Lace Collections" & Threads of Power exhibit
Dear Nancy, Arlene and fellow Arachnids, I was also puzzled by the claim that there are four great lace collections and wondered what they were. I had it in mind to contact the Wall Street Journal writer and ask her to tell me. However, I imagine this was information contained in a press packet from the museum, so it might be better asked of the curators, or possibly the Textilmuseum in St. Gallen. (I did feel that it might be a little bit embarrassing, me being a big time lace aficionado, having to ask a reporter for the Wall Street Journal what the four big lace collections were.) But, I havenât had the time to ask about this because the Threads of Power exhibit at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery in New York is keeping me really busy. This is a great exhibit, including 151 pieces from the Textilmuseum in St. Gallen, Switzerland. I encourage everyone to try to see it. It is strong on 17th century lace and has pieces of astoundingly fine thread that allows for a great deal of definition to tiny figures of animals, mermen, etc. I have never seen such fine thread and it has really made me think. This is certainly the best and biggest lace exhibit to happen in New York since the Cooper-Hewitt show in 1982. The first floor is devoted to 17th century lace which is a transformative experience. But, it also includes a wonderful piece by Elena Kanagy-Loux. She was inspired by the fact that there are two very similar needle lace depictions of the story of Judith and Holofernes, one in the show, and one in the Metropolitan Museum collection. She was asked to make a piece of lace and keep track of the hours. She chose to do a very imaginative collar depicting Judith and Holofernes in the scallops. (Recall that she made an original collar for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be a gift from Columbia University.) It took over 200 hours to make the collar for the Bard. She filmed the process and there is a speeded up video of her working it. This is actually the first thing that visitors see when they enter the exhibit. On the second floor there is more 17th century lace, be still my beating heart, under the concept of focusing on the Habsburgâs lace. Included is a table cover with representations of the Golden Fleece that Is identical to the one in the V & A. I say this without fear of contradiction because I actually looked up the one at the V & A to check its measurements and they are the same. In fact, the information on the piece on the V & Aâs website is that there is an identical one in St. Gallen. The one at the V & A entered the collection in 1880 and the one at the Bard was bought at auction in 2006. What is the story behind this? What auction? Were there two or more originally? Is one a copy? Also on the second floor is an area on the French lace industry of the 17th and 18th century with some breath- taking lappets, again in incredibly fine thread. There is an area on ecclesiastical lace which includes the most prized possession of the Textilmuseum, a needle lace piece, possibly an antependium, dating from the late 17th century with tiny figures in 17th century dress incorporating gold thread. The third floor deals with the Ikle familyâs use of the collection to assist them in making authentic looking lace on the Schiffli machine. Also on the third floor is contemporary fashion made of machine made lace including Michelle Obamaâs dress that she wore to the 2009 inauguration. This was an extremely important loan to the Bard, although, for my part, I find my interest flagging when we get to machine made lace. In fact, a number of people have told me that they cannot take in the entire exhibit in one visit, and since they are lace people, I think they are talking about the first and second floor. Personally, I was so exhausted by the first floor that I had to traverse the second floor by moving a Bard provided folding museum stool along with me. I still feel I have not really absorbed it all. The exhibit includes oil paintings of people wearing the lace, an original pattern book, a print of a 17th century lace shop and all sorts of didactic material which I would find most interesting if it were not for the fact that I have only enough energy to focus on the lace itself. There are videos showing how lace is made. The scholarly work on putting on the exhibit is very impressive. There is also a catalog that is over 400 pages long with articles by lace scholars that we know and others that we do not know. There is an attempt to include lace made and worn by non-Europeans. In the exhibit there is an emphasis on the lacemakers themselves. The Bard held a class about the lacemakers and the members of the class researched them and produced digital material that enhances the exhibit. There are kiosks with a screen that allows you to interact with the material. Also there are black holes with glass surfaces in various places in the museum which allow you to down load an audio file with more material about the
