Towel End
Unknown Artist
1700s–1800s
Medium
cotton or linen (est.); straight (continuous) bobbin lace; ground with interspersed motifs of plant and animal forms in plain weave outlined with gimp (heavy cord); applied silk (est.) ribbon
Dimensions
30 × 39 cm
Classification
Lace
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1931.106
About this artwork
This lace was used to embellish a towel end. Textiles of this type are valuable for their lacework depicting ancient folk motifs, ritual significance, exemplification of the role of textiles in Russian society, and connection to a prominent woman collector, Natalia de Shabelsky, without whom this textile and others like it might have been lost.