Border with Renaissance Motif

early 19th century

Border with Renaissance Motif, early 19th century. Italy, early 19th century. Needle lace, machine-made burato (twined ground and darned in one direction); bleached linen (est.); overall: 31.1 x 297.4 cm (12 1/4 x 117 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade 1920.526 A scrolling vine or a tendril motif is a recurring pattern in needle lace. The frequent use of the motif, adapted in lace from different centuries and regions, suggests that it may have been inspired by a design in a printed pattern book. Books of patterns for lace making and other needlework were aimed at well-to-do women and girls as a way of encouraging domestic virtue.