Lace Exhibit at the Met Museum in New York

 

If you find yourself anywhere near the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York before January 13, 2013, check out their Gems of European Lace exhibit at the Antonio Ratti Textile Centre!

Taken from the press release:

Included in the installation are examples of the two major lacemaking techniques: needle lace (built up from a single thread that is worked in a variety of looping, or buttonhole, stitches) and bobbin lace (woven—or braided—together from multiple threads organized on individual bobbins). Beyond the two basic technical categories, lace is also often described with the name of the town or region where a particular style was first made. The exhibition will include outstanding examples of Venetian (needle) lace, Brussels (bobbin) lace, and Devon (bobbin) lace. Of particular interest is a 19th-century handkerchief associated with King Leopold II and Queen Marie-Henriette of Belgium. The queen was a patron of the local lace industry.

There is also a lovely filet lace dress which belonged to the early 20th century American socialite Rita de Acosta Lydig an avid collector whose pieces formed the basis for the Costume Institute at the Met.

Two Italian examples in the exhibit are from the Nuttall Collection, donated by Magdalena Nuttall in 1908. You can read more about this collection by downloading the Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1908.

A special thank you to Sarah for the info about this event!

Italy's 150th Birthday

2011 marks Italy's 150th birthday and the country is celebrating for 9 months! If you are planning a trip to Italy this year, don't forget to check for celebrations wherever you are going. Discover Italy in Turin has a lot to look at and plan for on their website (click on the British flag for the English pages).

Cover art for the book Le Donne del Risorgimento by Bruna Bertolo.

Among the things that are textile-related is the Fashion in Italy 150 years of Elegance exhibit which goes from July 23 to December 11, 2011 at the Venaria Reale about 10 km outside of the center of Turin.

There are several exhibits of Bandera Embroidery in Chieri.

Artisan exhibits with an "Arts and Crafts Supermarket" featuring textiles and other hand-crafted articles in Turin from March 17 to November 20, 2011.

In Como at the Silk Museum there is a lace exhibit from March 16 to April 29, 2011.

There are historical and cultural events in many cities and towns. Don't miss the opportunity to see period costumes and take advantage of reduced rates at many newly restored museums, palazzos and monuments. There will be shows, plays, films, books, historical documents - more than I can list.

Tricolore by Gaetano Ricchizzi.

Please let me know of any textile events you attend, I'd love to see photos!

Veronese Crochet Lace - Il Pizzo di Verona

I can finally tell you some exciting news!

If you've been wondering why it's been so quiet on my blog lately, part of the reason is that I've been translating a fascinating text on a nearly-forgotten Italian needlework technique from the early 20th century called Il Pizzo di Verona or Veronese Crochet Lace.

The book will be published in about a month or so and presented at Palazzo Forti in Verona on March 12, 2011 at 11 am. I greatly envy you if you can go!

Bianca Rosa Bellomo will present the book during a lecture about historical events in Verona in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and how they impacted the creator of this lace, Laudomia Spazzi-Gonevino and her family. She will no doubt fascinate you with the story of how the authors of this new book (Anna Castagnetti, Donatella Granzarolo and Bianca Rosa Bellomo herself) researched this technique and it's creator and her family, starting from two all-but-forgotten booklets published in the early 20th century edited by Amelia Brizzi Ramazzotti for the Sonzogno publishing house in Milan.

Also from March 8th - 12th there will be free demonstrations of how to make this exquisite crochet and needle lace during the show Verona Tessile: "Le vie della seta si incontrano a Verona" [Verona Textile Show: The silk roads meet in Verona"].

March 8th is also International Women's Day which is widely celebrated in Italy so it is fitting that there be a celebration of a woman's life at this time.

This new book has some historical information as well as step-by-step instructions and photos for creating this beautiful crochet and needle lace, the text is in Italian and English. It is published by the NuovaS1 publishing house in Italy and I have no doubt that Elena at Italian Needlecrafts will have it for sale as soon as it becomes available. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!