Fragment of a Border with Repeated Pattern of Fantastic Winged Animals

c. 1550–1600

Fragment of a Border with Repeated Pattern of Fantastic Winged Animals, c. 1550–1600. Italy. Needle lace, burato (twined ground and darned in two directions); bleached linen (est.); overall: 29.1 x 39.5 cm (11 7/16 x 15 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Educational Purchase Fund 1920.825 A four-legged animal pattern repeats in the top register, and winged birds appear in the central and bottom register. The birds, which are significantly larger in the central panel, may be peacocks. For related works see 1920.1245. The word lace derives from the Latin laqueus, meaning noose.