Piece
Unknown Artist
early 18th century
Medium
Bobbin lace
Dimensions
L. 18 x W. 1 3/4 inches (45.7 x 4.4 cm)
Classification
Textiles-Laces
Culture
Flemish, Mechlin
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. J. W. Pinchot, 1908
Accession Number
08.73.3
Art Historical Context
This delicate bobbin lace piece, crafted by an unknown Flemish artist in the early th century, hails from Mechlin (Mechelen), a renowned center of lace production in the Spanish Netherlands. Measuring a slender 18 by 1¾ inches, it exemplifies the exquisite textiles that adorned Europe's elite fashion and ecclesiastical garments during the Baroque era. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Sculpture and Decorative Arts—gifted by Mrs. J. W. Pinchot in 1908—this narrow strip likely served as a flounce, lappet, or insertion, highlighting lace's role as a status symbol in an age of opulent di...