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https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=BF047B46EDF857D94AB7EEB15F0AE0874BA2F657B63AA19FF531195180FD7D76&s=24247294&se=450972956&v=1&f=%5Cd4216%5Cu2642165%5C1931.104_o2.jpg
Apr 27, 2018
Towel End
Towel End
c. 1700s–1800s
Cotton or linen (est.) straight (continuous) bobbin lace (Vologda tape lace). The tape forms figural or plant motifs outlined with gimp (heavy cord) with a monochrome plaited ground (metal thread or linen (est.) linking the tape; applied silk (est.) and metal thread ribbon
Overall: 35.5 x 46 cm (14 x 18 1/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1931.104
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Did you know?
Embellishing the ends of everyday towels was a common folk tradition in many cultures because it displayed the skill of the mother or daughter who stitched them.
Description
This Russian lace panel was likely used to embellish the end of a bathing towel. Textiles of this type are valuable for their fine embroidery or lacemaking that included ancient folk motifs, ritual significance, exemplification of the role of textiles in their society, and in this case, connection to a prominent woman collector, Natalia de Shabelsky, without whom this textile and others like it might have been lost.
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