Fragment of a Band with Birds and Trees

16th century

Fragment of a Band with Birds and Trees, 16th century. Italy, Sicily, 16th century. Needle lace, burato (twined ground and darned in one direction); bleached linen (est.); overall: 5.4 x 23.5 cm (2 1/8 x 9 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade 1920.1121 This lace, made in Sicily, shows a close relationship to a pattern in a model book published in Lyon, France, a commercial center of printing and luxury textile trade with strong ties to Italy. The designs were based on a grid, making it easier for the lace maker to translate the printed image into needlework. Plant motifs, such as the blooming bushes found here, flanked by birds, were popular for their associations with well-being or blessing.