Border with Crowned and Double-Headed Birds

18th-19th century

Border with Crowned and Double-Headed Birds, 18th-19th century. Russia, 18th-19th century. Needle lace, filet/lacis (knotted ground and darned in one direction) and bobbin lace edging; bleached linen (est.); overall: 35.6 x 154.3 cm (14 x 60 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Edward S. Page 1921.85 This long border may have functioned as a valance, a decorative drapery made for attachment at the frame of the bed. Crowned double-headed eagles confront peacocks, while smaller birds fly above them. Handmade lace for marriage dowries was produced in large quantities in Russia during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.