The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Fragment with Wide Circular Pattern

1500s–1600s

Italy, 1500s-1600s

Bleached linen (est.): needle lace, mezza mandolina
Overall: 11.4 x 17.5 cm (4 1/2 x 6 7/8 in.)
Gift of J. H. Wade 1920.1125
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Mezza mandolina was frequently used for lace collars, often depicted in portraits of women from the 1500s and 1600s.

Description

The mezza mandolina technique produces an irregular mesh netting, as opposed to the uniform knotted netting of filet/lacis needle lace. This piece gains the overall effect of the mesh netting through the lace maker’s use of large and small circular patterns.
  • Ida Schiff Collection
    J.H. Wade
    1920-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Ricci, Elisa. Old Italian Lace. 1913. Vol. 1, No. 56
  • {{cite web|title=Fragment with Wide Circular Pattern|url=false|author=|year=1500s–1600s|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1920.1125