The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 27, 2023

Band with Parade of Human Figures, Stags, and Other Fantastic Animals

16th-17th century

Italy, Sicily ?, 16th-17th century

Needle lace, burato (twined ground and darned in one direction); bleached linen (est.)

Overall: 16.2 x 210.1 cm (6 3/8 x 82 11/16 in.)

Gift of Myrta Leonora Jones 1920.1271

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Myrta Leonora Jones, the donor of this lace, was a women’s rights activist in Cleveland in the early 1900s.

Description

Animals viewed in profile, some with their legs raised, indicate movement, such as a parade or procession. However, the human figures are shown frontally. Linear elements protruding from their backs and hands held out and open suggest the figures may be angels modeling a gesture of prayer.

Provenance
Gift of Myrta Leonora Jones (Mrs. Henry White Cannon)
Citations
Ricci, Elisa. Old Italian Lace. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1913. vol. 1 nos. 73-74
Simeon, Margaret. The History of Lace. London: Stainer and Bell, 1979. plate 4
Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1920.1271