54 REPORT 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, Itahan; rare Schleswig needle-point; Venetian 
gros point; Venetian tape and needle-point, seventeenth century; 
point de France needlework; Flemish bobbin; needle-point with 
réseau 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 Alencon 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 outhning 
by stitching. One magnificent piece of old point d’Argentan, 
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 was 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 
