POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Bobbin lace panel

Object No. 2003/50/1

This piece of Russian bobbin lace is made with the traditional techniques and style of Vologda, a town (founded in 1147) and province in north western Russia. The tape is made with wooden bobbins and shaped and joined with fine threads or brides into a distinctive pattern on a lace pillow. The Vologda area which grew flax and manufactured a very fine linen thread was an important trade centre and became famous for its lace making from the 17th century. The comparatively heavy tape lace suited the rich peasant culture of the area. By the mid 19th century lace making became a professional craft for thousands of Russian women in the area and in 1851 a flax spinning factory was commissioned there. The craft continued and after the 1917 revolution, schools were set up to improve design standards under communist rule. The design context of this example is of particular interest. The traditional romantic floral designs at each end are in stark contrast to the newer communist motifs of star, hammer and sickle in the centre, no doubt a product of the new push to improve 'design standards'. Edvarda thinks this lace was commissioned by the very large military airline, Aeroflot, when it launched its first civil airline in 1932. The narrow width suggests it may have been designed as a border to be attached to each end of an antimacassar, a large rectangle placed over the back of the seat to prevent hair oil (Macassar) from staining the upholstery. Few of these lace panels exist but there is thought to be one in the Vologda Kremlin Museum, one of many churches and monasteries that became a museum with the advent of communism.