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
Rights
Public Domain
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.