Antwerp lace

Antwerp lace, is a bobbin lace distinguished by stylized flower pot motifs on a six point star ground. It originated in Antwerp, where in the 17th century an estimated 50% of the population of Antwerp was involved in lace making. Antwerp lace is also known, from its familiar repeated motif, as Pot Lace— in Flemish Pottenkant or Potten Kant. It is sometimes said that the flowers were a depiction of the Annunciation lilies; however, the flowers were not limited to lilies.

It is a continuous lace, meaning that it was made in one piece on a lace pillow, using the same threads in the pattern as in the ground, or "réseau".cite book|last=Sharp|first=Mary|coauthors=|editor=|title=Point and Pillow Lace|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=SjVqcPZF30cC&pg=PR12&dq=antwerp+lace&lr=&as_brr=3&client=opera&sig=aLZ1d9966oXX6Bl2kOwql63ajYI|year=2007|month=March|accessdate=2008-05-20|publisher=Herron Press|isbn=1406745626|pages=pp.147] cite book|last=Earnshaw|first=Pat|title=A Dictionary of Lace|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mjYWZ2mogv8C&pg=PA13&dq=antwerp+lace&lr=&as_brr=3&client=opera&sig=CmZUzeaL3tmGhouuMCUrTstzbQA |accessdate=2008-05-20|year=1999|month=February|publisher=Dover Publications|isbn=048640482X|pages=p.13] Antwerp lace is very similar to Mechlin lace, which was also made in Antwerp. Antwerp lace is heavier and sturdier than Mechlin lace.cite book|last=Earnshaw|first=Pat|title=A Dictionary of Lace|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mjYWZ2mogv8C&pg=PA6&dq=antwerp+a+city+and+important+seaport+of+Flanders&lr=&as_brr=3&client=opera&sig=Lwrs5Va2PNx3FjUQFHITZBB3qRA |accessdate=2008-05-20|year=1999|month=February|publisher=Dover Publications|isbn=048640482X|pages=p.6] It has a "cordonnet", or a flat thread outlining the pattern, just as Mechlin lace does. The "cordonnet" was very strong and rather coarse.cite web|url=http://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/jm_lacer.pdf|title=Mechlin and Antwerp] Antwerp lace was also similar to Binche lace in its "cordonnet".cite book |last=Blum |first=Clara |title=Old World Lace: A Concise Illustrated Guide |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=bh1MYkEzpJUC&pg=PA7&vq=Antwerp+lace&dq=antwerp+lace&lr=&as_brr=3&client=opera&source=gbs_search_s&sig=VY0gKq_64IDYRRvMyay62KsjQ9Y |accessdate=2008-05-20 |year=2002 |month=June |publisher=Dover |isbn= 0486421503 |pages= pp.37-39] The "réseau" or ground for Antwerp lace varies from the same hexagonal ground as Mechlin lace to a tessellation-pattern featuring a six-pointed star.

History

Antwerp lace was being made during the 16th century. When the Dutch closed the river Scheldt to shipping in 1585 due to Antwerp falling under Spanish control, the production of Antwerp lace halted. [cite book |last= Deboeck |first= Guido |title= Flemish DNA & Ancestry: History of Three Families Over |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=gMFoRbjakCUC&pg=PA69&dq=Binche+lace&lr=&as_brr=3&client=opera&sig=vbQAWN0GhIU1pqqDNeTW7Z_qskI|accessdate= 2008-05-24|year= 2007|publisher= Dokus Publishing|isbn= 0972552677|pages= p.69] By 1698 Antwerp lace was known in England.cite book|last=Palliser|first=Bury|title=History of Lace|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=viEMAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA116&dq=antwerp+lace&lr=&as_brr=3&client=opera|accessdate=2008-05-20|year=1984|month=November|publisher=Dover Publications|isbn=0486247422|pages=pp.115-116|quote=] It first became popular as an export to the Spanish Indies, however when that market died the lace survived in traditional dress among the peasants near Antwerp. It was used mainly for trimming their hats throughout the 18th and 19th century.

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