The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of January 26, 2022

Bobbin Lace Flounce: Punto di Milano

18th century

Italy, Milan ?, 18th century

Lace, bobbin: linen

Average: 33.7 x 348 cm (13 1/4 x 137 in.)

Gift of Mrs. Edward B. Greene, G. G. Wade and J. H. Wade, Jr. for the Ellen Garretson Wade Memorial Collection 1923.997

Location

not on view

Description

Being the most prestigious material, lace was used extensively by the 1600s for altar linen and for trimming priest’s albs, often incorporating finely rendered religious images amid blossoming vines. This alb flounce depicts scenes from the Old Testament story of Joseph, whose jealous brothers sold him to a caravan bound for Egypt. Joseph later interpreted dreams of the pharaoh, who made him ruler. When famine in Canaan caused Joseph’s ten brothers to travel to Egypt in search of food, they bowed down to him. After he revealed his identity, he forgave his brothers and God saved the family.

Citations
Milliken, W. Mathewson. 1922. “Lace and Its Development: III. Venetian Point and Punto di Milano.” Antiques, V. 2. (October) p. 155-159, fig. 12, p.
William Mathewson Milliken. "The Ellen Garretson Wade Memorial Lace Collection." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 11, no. 1 (1924). p. 8-12 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925. Reproduced: p. 66 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928. Reproduced: p. 82 archive.org
Levey, Santina M. Lace: A History. [London]: Victoria & Albert Museum, 2004. pl. 202
Exhibition history

The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).

Lace: Italy, Flanders, France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 16, 1986-July 9, 1987).

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

Opulent Fashion in the Church. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19, 2016-October 2, 2017).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1923.997