Cloth with Winged and Two-Tailed Animals

17th-18th century

Cloth with Winged and Two-Tailed Animals, 17th-18th century. Italy, 17th-18th century. Plain weave linen with needle lace, filet/lacis (knotted ground and darned in two directions) and bobbin lace edging; bleached linen (est.); overall: 88.3 x 137.5 cm (34 3/4 x 54 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Louise Tifft Brown 1933.303 Strange two-tailed animals accompanied by birds appear on the filet/lacis lace. The compact pattern repeats horizontally, with inserted bands of two-tailed animals confronting birds. The bird motif is also depicted alongside a flower motif on the outer filet/lacis border. This cloth was given to the museum by Louise Tifft Brown, a native Clevelander who became an expert in lace while living in Venice for 35 years.