AMATEUR: researcher, translator, needleworker. I am not an expert nor a teacher nor a designer.
I do not get paid for any of the tips or information that I write about, nor do I get any kind of kickback from any website that I recommend. This information is given wholly from the desire to share my experiences and help those who would like to learn more about Italian Needlework. My interests are my *hobbies*.
I'm so excited to tell you about a booklet that has just come out. It is a facsimile reprint of a rare 16th century needle lace pattern book currently held in the public library of Forlì, Italy.
Besides 44 plates of needle lace patterns, there is also the story describing the rediscovery of this particular copy and its significance as well as detailed information on the very few other surviving copies. There is some controversy as to the true author of the patterns and the editor of this reprint, Bianca Rosa Bellomo, lays out all the known facts and hypotheses - it is a fascinating read. There are few words about the structure of the designs and then some highlights as to the subject matter of the patterns themselves with respect to the heraldry and symbolism represented. All text is accompanied by precise footnotes and there is a valuable and detailed bibliography for further study.
The first plate is a design incorporating the coats of arms of the Gonzaga and Este families as the original pattern book was dedicated to Margherita Gonzaga d'Este (1564-1618) the Duchess of Ferrara at the time.
The imperial eagles belong to the Este coat of arms; the siren is an antique symbol to exalt the gifts of song or to indicate an important woman; at the top there is an Este eagle and at the sides, lions rampant are resting on the Gonzaga crown.
The booklet is 60 pages and the text is in Italian and English. It can be purchased direct from the publisher, check out their website, they take PayPal. As Lacis in Berkeley, California is their North American distributor, you can contact them to request a copy. Remember that the book was just released in Italy so it may be a little while before it is available on this side of the ocean.
Starting on November 23rd (this Saturday!) and running until December 1st there will be a very interesting exhibition at the Casa di Stella Dell'Assassino in Via Cammello no. 15 in Ferrara.
Embroidery and the sciences in the hands is a literal translation of the title of this show which will consist of embroidery and lace exhibits, lectures and workshops. The aim of this show is to break down the common stereotypical thinking that embroidery is strictly a woman's activity and, more specifically, that it is only for housewives and homemakers.
I'm translating a bit from the pamphlet that I received:
The events of this show will be all about embroidery: it's anthropological, historical, political and cultural significance across the centuries. Originally this ancient art was exclusively done by men before passing into the hands of women to whom it owes its evolution of styles, techniques, approaches and meanings. Embroidery is intertwined with architecture, painting, sculpture, the human sciences but also geometry, algebra, mathematics, spaces and numbers. These aspects are always neglected and only unconsciously intuitive but they are the basis for embroidery and its perfection.
This will be an important exhibition of ancient and contemporary embroidery with alternating technical demonstrations by the participating embroidery schools and a series of lectures in support of knowledge relating to the world of embroidery. It is an invitation to schools, citizens, experts, scholars and the curious.
I think it sounds fascinating! I really wish I could be there.
Below is an image of the program schedule in Italian but I'm translating a bit of it just so my English-speaking readers can understand the depth that this show is undertaking. I've never heard of an event like this one. If you go, I'd love to hear from you!
Sat. 23 Nov.:
- Inauguration of the event. - Lecture: Can the art of embroidery create innovation and work? - Lecture: The origins of Estense Embroidery. - Lecture: Aemilia Ars needle lace and the designer with Ferrarese origins: Parisina Schincaglia. The numbers, the geometry, the embroidery. - The participating embroidery schools present the objects exhibited.
Sun. 24 Nov.:
- Embroidery workshop and presentation of the materials exhibited.
Mon. 25 Nov.:
- Embroidery workshop. - Lecture: The embroidery book bibliography of the Bassani Library. The research for the books and the catalogue.
Tue. 26 Nov.:
- Embroidery workshop. - Lecture: The art of painting and that of embroidery. Together.
Wed. 27 Nov.:
- Embroidery workshop.
Thu. 28 Nov.:
- Embroidery workshop. - Lecture: Memories of the embroidery school of Sacro Cuore in Via Borgo di Sotto [Ferrara].
Fri. 29 Nov.:
- Embroidery workshop. - Lecture: The Estense tapestry weaving mill.
- Burraco Tournament
Sat. 30 Nov.:
- Embroidery workshop.
- Screening of a short film: "Lovers with no luck"(1949) directed by Florestano Vancini and Adolfo Baruffi. - Lecture: Stories of Lovers: Nicolò III d'Este & Stella Dell'Assassino and Ugo & Parisina.
Sun. 1 Dec.:
- Embroidery workshop and presentation of the materials exhibited.
Four days before I left for Italy in September, I received an email from Bianca Rosa Bellomo of the Associazione Culturale "I Merletti di Antonilla Cantelli" in Bologna. She was putting the finishing touches on a couple of Aemilia Ars needle lace DVD instructional videos that the Associazione had made in collaboration with the Nuova S1 publishing house and there was provision for subtitles in English - could I check over her translations?
Back of the DVD
We worked right up until the day before I left on English subtitles for both DVDs. The first one covers the basics of Aemilia Ars needle lace and includes the printed patterns for a lavette cloth with a border and a rose motif (48 minutes long). The second covers the same basics of Aemilia Ars needle lace and includes a printed carnation motif design (35 minutes long).
You can check out the DVD trailer on YouTube, be sure to change the settings to 1080pHD for high definition quality:
When we met in Bologna a week later Bianca Rosa told me all about how the Associazione's idea came to fruition and the incredible work involved in making the DVDs. She described all the things you never think about like the music selection, typography and the best camera angles. They were hoping to have the DVDs ready for the (then) upcoming handmade creativity exhibition Abilmente in Vicenza the weekend of October 17, 2013. Unfortunately I was unable to get to the exhibition but Bianca Rosa performed acrobatics in order to get me my copies of the DVDs before I left Italy for home.
I was going to Ferrara to visit some friends and I emailed Bianca Rosa to tell her that I had to change trains in Bologna and that I would be thinking of her as I passed by her city. She responded that she'd meet me on the platform. Now, the Bologna central rail station has recently undergone massive improvements and it's huge! There are many entrances and exits to the platforms and great confusion can happen. The morning I left Florence for Ferrara there was a freak rainstorm and flash flooding which resulted in many of the local trains being cancelled due to damage along the tracks and huge delays with the trains that were running. Suddenly the half hour I had to change trains in Bologna became 5 minutes. I hit the ground running from my arrival platform in search of my (by now almost deserted) departure platform and upon arrival at the top of the stairs I didn't see Bianca Rosa anywhere. My train rang the bell that it was departing and I had to jump on immediately. When I arrived in Ferrara I contacted Bianca Rosa to apologize for leaving her hanging around the station for an hour wondering what had happened to me and we resigned ourselves to the fact that we would not see each other again before I left Italy at the end of the week.
Bianca Rosa however is a very determined lady for which I am profoundly grateful. She called my friend in Ferrara later in the day to say that she'd looked up my return train to Florence on the internet and even though this time I didn't have to change in Bologna, the train would still stop to pick up passengers there. She asked what carriage my seat was in and said she'd be waiting on the platform right where my carriage would stop and that I should jump down for a second and get the package she had for me.
It all seemed so simple.
My train left Ferrara on schedule and the rain had stopped. Five minutes outside of Bologna I got up and went to the doorway of the carriage to get ready to jump down at the station. All the lights in the train went out and we came to a dead stop. We sat there on the tracks for 20 minutes. Early evening in late October in the countryside of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy means no lights in the darkness. I had returned my borrowed cell phone and therefore had no way of communicating with Bianca Rosa. I will admit that I thought about Harry Potter and the Dementors while we sat there on the tracks in the darkness. Luckily Bianca Rosa waited and when we finally arrived at the Bologna station, I jumped down, thanked her profusely and jumped back on the train instantly. I was afraid that it would leave right away as we were now behind schedule. I ran back to my seat with my parcel and looked for her out the window but she was gone. The train sat in the station for another 15 minutes. I thought about the little mini-visit that we could have had instead of that last panicked hug. Well, enough about my adventures, you're thinking: tell us about the DVDs!
DVD no. 2
Of course I couldn't watch them until I got home to Canada but I can tell you that they are worth all the acrobatics done to get them! They are priced very reasonably for the amount of instruction there is and if you're like me and have been fumbling around with Aemilia Ars needle lace on your own at home, just watching the execution of the lace and observing the way the piece is held, the usage of the thumb and the movements involved will be a great help to you.
Been struggling with those picots? Now you can see exactly how they are done. I really like the graphics and the way they illustrate which parts of the lace you are watching. Even with the sound off and no subtitles, it was very easy to see what was happening. The assembly of the support system is shown as are the various steps to changing threads when you run out in a wide variety of positions (eg. during filling stitches, during structure construction, while executing support stitches, while executing a petal, an arch and other motifs), detaching the lace from the support system, attaching the lace to fabric, attaching the fabric to the support system and many other interesting and valuable tips and tricks.
The Aemilia Ars needle lace DVDs are in PAL2 format which means that they won't work on your DVD/TV combination at home in North America but I watched mine without a hitch on my Macintosh computer - I can't tell you if a PC can do the same but I know that there are programs which allow you to view European formatted DVDs, best to inform yourself first if you have any doubts.
At the moment, the Aemilia Ars needle lace DVDs are only available directly from the publisher Nuova S1. I have talked to them and they are looking into shipping costs to North America and the possibility of accepting PayPal as a form of payment, I will update you when they get back to me. Lacis in California distributes their books but doesn't have the DVDs - you could try contacting them to see if they can bring the Aemilia Ars needle lace DVDs in for you. Please let me know if you are successful, so I can spread the news to others!
The very best gifts are those that are unexpected. Last week a courier arrived with a package from Italy and I had no idea what it could be. The little girl in me took over as soon as I'd signed for it and I sat down right there on the stairs and ripped open the envelope. Inside was truly a wonder to behold and I sat there for the better part of an hour (probably with my mouth open the whole time).
As regular readers will know, I absolutely LOVE the textured Italian embroideries and this is a stunning example. An Umbrian Embroidery pillow cover in amazing condition!
This very fortunate find was discovered by Bianca Rosa Bellomo of the Associazione I Merletti di Antonilla Cantelli in Bologna. She told me that she found it at a stall in the market at an excellent price. The lady running the stall told her that it came from an rich estate in the hills which was vacated. It has certainly been well looked after!
In the book Ricami della Bell'Epoca I found two photos of a table cover with the same design (repeated seven times!). The caption says that that piece dates to the 1930s. I wonder how old the one I have is?
Four delightful knotted tassels, one at each corner of the pillow cover. Inside the head of each one appears to be a wooden bead.
Check out these exquisite buttons which run along the top edge to enclose a pillow! They are slipped through buttonhole loops to close.
Insertion stitching used on three sides to join the front and back together. See how the edging matches? The back has three sets of blanket stitches repeating all the way around and the front is bordered by chain stitching. The stitching matches along the edge of the insertion stitches.
Detail of my pillow cover.
Detail of my pillow cover.
Detail of my pillow cover.
Detail of my pillow cover.
I can study the back side of the embroidery too!
I just happen to have the perfect size pillow to put in it and now it sits on my bed so I can see it every time I walk into my room!
A tremendous and heartfelt thank you to Bianca Rosa for this most precious of gifts!
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!
Savignano sul Rubicone (until 1933 called Savignano della Romagna) is located near the north-eastern coastline of Italy, between Ravenna and Rimini. Savignano Braid Embroidery, which originates from this area, was once used to decorate cattle and oxen in local country expositions and fairs - kind of like county fairs as we know them.
Image from Peasant Art in Italy, The Studio Magazine, 1913:
Kind of like the fairs we know, but of course different. The cattle and oxen were paraded along the main routes of the town so the people could admire and appreciate them better. Animals for sale were also dressed to impress. The country folk made covers for their beasts' parade and decorated them with simple yet effective motifs on homespun cloth using cotton, linen, hemp or woolen threads.
In the early years of the 20th century when all over Italy school-workshops were springing up to offer women education and means to support themselves through needlework, Savignano was not excluded. Countess Maria Luisa Rasponi of Ravenna was responsible for the School of Savignano di Romagna where she revived this ancient technique and where reproductions of antique motifs (from antique covers that she was able to recover) were reproduced on tablecloths, bed covers, curtains and other household items.
Savignano Braid Embroidery entails applied braids and chains which form rustic patterns in traditional colours of blue, red and off-white. Simple or knotted fringes border the pieces or tassels adorn the corners. Suitable fabrics are hemp or linen.
As part of the Italian Feminine Industries exhibit at the 1906 World's Fair in Milan, Savignano Braid Embroidery was exhibited in a veranda suite (image taken from Elisa Ricci's article in Emporium, July 1907):
Elisa Ricci included this picture of an oxen cover made by the School of Savignano di Romagna in her article about the Italian Feminine Industries organization written for the magazine Emporium in July 1907:
...and this one in 1913 for her chapter on Women's Crafts in Peasant Art in Italy for The Studio magazine:
Savignano Braid Embroidery won several awards at various fairs and exhibitions of the period and enjoyed success until the death of the Countess Rasponi in 1919. It is occasionally mentioned in various magazines and exhibition reviews until the early 1940s.
In 2007, acting on information written in the early 20th century, a small group of Italian women went to visit the Romagna Ethnographic Museum of Forlì in the hopes of finding one of the antique oxen covers that the Countess Rasponi had recovered. The tale of their discovery and the history of Savignano Braid Embroidery along with the basic stitches and patterns can be found in the book: Ricami a Treccia di Savignano, 2007 by Bianca Rosa Bellomo, Cristina Notore and Paola Paglierani (text in Italian).
The TALEA Officina Tessile teaches Savignano Braid Embroidery, and as mentioned here previously, offers kits (though not yet for sale overseas). If you go through the Gallerie Foto on their website you will see many works of Savignano Braid Embroidery.
There is a short article (in Italian) with a picture here.
You can download a pdf file of Peasant Art in Italyhere (Holme, Charles, The Studio, 1913).
Whenever I want to investigate something that someone tells me about, I leave their email in my inbox until I can get to it. Sometimes this takes a long time.
Last November, I received an email announcing the 6th Annual Hemp Fair in Gambettola, Italy which was sponsored by the hand-stamped fabric manufacterers Bertozzi and Pascucci. At this exhibition lessons in Savignano Braid Embroidery were offered and in the email was a photo of a cushion done in Savignano Braid Embroidery which was auctioned off with proceeds going to charity.
This is the cushion:
Now, I already knew about Savignano Braid Embroidery, but I was interested in the school that was teaching it as the instructors listed where women that I had met: Cristina Notore and Paola Paglierani of Italia Invita. These two delightful women are co-authors with another woman, Bianca Rosa Bellomo in a book on Savignano Braid Embroidery, and Cristina Notore wrote a beautiful instructional book on Macramé borders called: Macramé in Toscana which is already in it's second printing.
It has taken me 8 months to investigate, but better late than never! The school is called: TALÈA Officina Tessile and is currently holding courses in three different locations: Rimini, Riccione and Bellaria – all on the north-eastern coast of Italy. Cristina and Paola have participated in numerous exhibitions and have won many awards for their work.
If you visit the TALÈA Officina Tessile website, you can check out many photos and watch a video which shows a little of what you might expect to learn in their Macramé courses. Clicking here will show you some of the techniques of needlework that they teach and there are even kits available for the techniques of Macramé and Savignano Braid Embroidery. When I asked if these kits where available for overseas customers, Cristina told me that they are not set up for online sales at the moment but are looking into it. She promised to get back to me with details after summer holidays.
The comune of Sansepolcro is located in the province of Arezzo in Tuscany. For those with little geographical knowledge of Italy, it is near Florence.
Around the turn of the 20th century two sisters from Sansepolcro started a lace school. Adele and Ginna Marcelli, the daughters of a local elementary school teacher, developed a bobbin lace technique they had learned and developed it in order to personalize it to their local area and give it a decidedly Italian flavour.
You can read the history of this development here, there are also some photos of Sansepolcro Lace.
The Italian needlework scholar Elisa Ricci mentions the sisters and their lace in the introduction of her book Antiche Trine Italiane - Trine a Fuselli (1911) and there is evidence that Elisa Ricci herself believed strongly in the beauty and expertise of this lace and that she contributed quietly to its success by supplying designs and spreading the news of its development. In the preface of the 2007 reprint of this volume, Bianca Rosa Bellomo has inserted a photo of an amazing work of Sansepolcro Lace from an article written by Elisa Ricci entitled: Le trine di Sansepolcro which appeared in the Italian magazine La Casa Bella in 1929.
Sansepolcro Lace from the Italia Invita 2005 Forumbook:
In 1983 the Sansepolcro Cultural Centre developed local exhibitions to show local artisan crafts and in 1984 started the Sansepolcro Lace Biennial which became an international event in 1990.
This event is considered one of the most important lace events and hosts an international competition for lace works which is open to all kinds of lace, be it needle lace, bobbin lace, crochet lace, etc. For a full list of competition guidelines go here. It is too late to enter this time but you could get a great head start on a piece for the next show in 2012!
The Sansepolcro International Lace Biennial also hosts an exhibition which is divided into five categories: European Countries, Non European Countries, Italian Regions, the International Competition and the Lace School of Sansepolcro.
Each event has a theme and this year the XIV Sansepolcro International Lace Biennial, which will be held between September 11th and November 15, 2010, is dedicated to Botticelli - celebrating the 500th anniversary of his death in 1510 - the theme is: the beauty of the body and the beauty of the soul.
There will also be workshops: "for theoretic-practical knowledge of the techniques of lacemaking and of their old and new workmanship, with didactic intervention by italian and foreign teachers."
If you happen to be in Tuscany in the fall, you might like to take in this incredible event!
If you can find it at a used book dealer, there is a book on Sansepolcro Lace called: Ginna Marcelli e Il Merletto Di San Sepolcro by Anita Chersi Casini, 1996. (Text in Italian)
Clicking here will take you to a page in Italian on Sansepolcro Lace, click on the small photo at the beginning of the article to get a closer look at a tablecloth called: The Warriors - the lace reproduces a Roman frieze preserved in the Civic Museum of Sansepolcro. It is a work of the Marcelli sisters' school. There is also a picture of it here.
Take a look at photos from a workshop taken at the XIII Biennial in 2008!
In the early twentieth century Italian needlework scholar Elisa Ricci edited the reprints of five 16th century pattern books for embroidery and lace.
Last year these reprints were collected together and reprinted again in one volume called Disegni per Merletti e Ricami[Designs for Lace and Embroidery] edited by Bianca Rosa Bellomo. Pattern books included in this volume are: I singolari e nuovi disegni per lavori di biancheria by Federico Vinciolo, La vera perfectione del disegno per punti e ricami by Giovanni Ostaus, Il Burato: libri de Ricami by Alessandro Paganino, and two by Giovanandrea Vavassore: Opera nuova universale intitolata Corona di Ricami and Esemplario di lavori: che insegna alle donne il modo e l'ordine di lavorare.
For the presentation of Disegni per Merletti e Ricami, Bianca Rosa asked several needlework friends to stitch patterns from the volume in whatever technique they liked. The pieces were then part of a display at the Italia Invita Forum in Parma in May of 2009. The stitched pieces were displayed beside a printout of the pattern chosen from the antique pattern books. It was a delightful display to look at!! (Click on the little photos on the linked page to look closer)
Later in May the works were displayed again in Bologna. It was very difficult to pick which ones to show you so this is a random pick of one design from each author:
Vinciolo: Ostaus:
Paganino:
Vavassore I:
Vavassore II:
I saw both displays and can tell you that it was fascinating to look at the different interpretations of each pattern. I noticed things in Bologna that I hadn't paid attention to in Parma – I could have looked forever!
You can read more about Elisa Ricci at the Italian Embroidery website Tuttoricamo, click on the British flag for the English pages and look under 'prominent characters'.
Disegni per Merletti e Ricami can be purchased here. (Send an email request.)
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