64 REPOET OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 



drawn work; guipure; punto in aria; Gothic; Greek; reticella 

 needle-point, seventeenth century ; flat needle-point, Venetian ; needle- 

 point punto in aria; needle-point, transition from geometric to 

 scroll; early bobbin, Italian; rare Schleswig needle-point; Venetian 

 gros point; Venetian tape and needle-point, seventeenth century; 

 point de France needlework; Flemish bobbin; needle-point with 

 reseau or net; and other bobbin laces to the end of the series. In 

 several cases in the middle of the range are represented the great 

 periods and centers of the industry or of distribution from which 

 familiar names have been derived. Here are Flemish and Italian 

 bobbin laces of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, striking in 

 their bold, simple, and forceful designs. Not less pleasing are the 

 Venetian and Genoese point of the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- 

 turies, which range from the extremely delicate patterns of the early 

 types to the raised and rose gros point sculpturesque laces of a 

 somewhat late period which Velasquez and Rembrandt loved to 

 paint. 



A number of notable specimens of Venetian lace may be seen in 

 the cases containing personal collections. Brussels for a long period 

 has enjoyed a reputation for producing fine lace. In that city many 

 varieties were worked into one shawl, and there in the early eight- 

 eenth century lace was made and sold in England as point d'Angle- 

 terre, the name causing some confusion as to its origin. Of the 

 latter are displayed an interesting collar and a large piece of church 

 lace with figures. Valenciennes and Binche of great fineness and 

 beauty were produced as early as the seventeenth century and this 

 group is well illustrated by exquisite specimens. A piece of Binche 

 worked to represent snow crystals and hence called point de Neige 

 deserves special attention. Several excellent pieces of Mechlin are 

 found in the collection, and among the rarer examples is an old 

 Mechlin border with unusual ground. Of Alengon and guipure de 

 Cluny, Burano, and Argentan there are many specimens. These 

 laces show a greater floridness of design than the earlier types and 

 are characterized by the raised surface of the pattern and outlining 

 by stitching. One magnificent piece of old point dArgentan, 

 believed to be the finest extant and certainly worthy of the highest 

 praise for its noble designing, is attractively displayed. 



Bobbin lace required a " pillow " sometimes mounted on a stand. 

 By means of a perforated paper or parchment pattern, and pins and 

 bobbins to which the threads were attached, this lace Avas made. 

 Two of the pillows about 100 years old and a copy of a painting by 

 Terburg (1608-1681) showing a bobbin lacemaker at work are ex- 

 hibited in a small case at the west end of the range. 



The production of fine bobbin net with small thread furnished a 

 most important stimulus to the making of lace. Often grounds of 



