History woven by the finest of threads
The Flemish master of oil painting Jacob Van Eyck wrote this ringing endorsement in 1651. As one who does not have a great track record in craftwork, I’ve always admired the delicacy and skill that goes into lace making.
There seems to be an almost ethereal quality to lace — Van Eyck’s “fine web” — twirling vines, birds, flowers and any amount of intricate and complex patterns all of which require a huge amount of dedication to execute.
The earliest examples of lace comes from Pharonic times and consisted of flax cloth decorated with coloured threads and worked into geometric designs But true lace was not made until the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
Lace is created when thread is looped, twisted or braided to other threads, independent from a backing fabric. Once linen, silk, gold or silver threads were used, but today lace is often made with cotton thread. Some modern artists make lace with fine copper or silver wire instead of thread. The many types of lace are classified by how they are made. In medieval Flanders, cities were organised by powerful groups of artisans who formed guilds. Growing flax, which was turned into linen, created wealth, the finest fabric money could buy.
But jealous — and powerful — eyes were turned on Flanders when Joan of Navarre, the wife of the King of France Philip IV, visited Bruges in 1300. Joan demanded to know why all the women in Flanders were better dressed than she was. And being a man who liked a quiet life, Phillip promptly sent his tax collectors to the city but they were quickly sent packing.
This incident led to what became known as the “Battle of the Golden Spurs”. Much conflict followed which resulted in Flanders and Italy joining forces and Italy becoming a centre of lace making. It rained for the whole of 1305. Rats moved into human dwellings. Fleas carried the Black Death over into the human population, killing half of Europe’s population. Many moved to Italy to escape both foul weather and the Plague, adding to the church’s wealth as it collected large sums from people to compensate for their sins and to avoid the plague through prayer. In the centuries which followed, the church became a principal customer and user of lace.
Irish lace has become world famous for the intricate designs. But its origins were born out of the poverty anddespair after the Famine of many enterprising and creative women. Ursuline nuns began teaching girls and women to produce the fine crochet that became known as Irish lace designs were developed by families and became closely guarded secrets, which sadly led to many being lost as family members died or fled poverty.
Mother Mary Ann Smyth from Presentation Convent in Youghal began unpicking some Venetian Point lace and examining the stitches. She passed the secrets on to local girls and women who quickly mastered the craft and soon made a profit selling their finished pieces of this finest Youghal needlepoint lace.
Thanks to the Presentation Sisters some of these beautiful designs still survive today. At this point in my research, I felt that it was time I spoke to Veronica Stuart — teacher artist, lace maker and chairperson of the Traditional Lace makers of Ireland.
>>“Yes. Mechanisation had come in and many of the patterns and stitches that were special to individual families were lost.”
>>“I became interested through the ICA who asked me to give a talk on lace making. I’d learned Limerick and Carrickmacross styles and I had begun to wonder why Cork lace making had disappeared. Sister Mary Coleman Reed from the Youghal convent invited me to study some old pieces of lace and that’s how it all started. Some threads were finer than a human hair.”
>>“About two and a half years. I used a magnifying glass and I unravelled all the stitches then recreated samples using a thicker thread. We had our first Youghal lace-making class in 1989 and we only expected a few people to turn up, but 125 people came, and by the end 66 ladies had enrolled.”
>>“That was a great occasion. There’s a great interest world wide in lace making. I won an International Gold Medal in Italy for reviving the craft of Youghal needlepoint lace. And I’ve been invited back many times since to teach and exhibit.”
>>“We went to Malaga, Tenerife and Madeira. It was a fantastic experience and we got the opportunity to meet local lace makers. We’ve invited several of them to come to Ireland for a Gathering we’re staging next year in Kenmare. There were lace-making schools in Glengarriff, Bandon, Skibbereen and many other West Cork towns and villages. My daughter and I wrote a book called The West Cork Lace Trail so that people could trace its history. Lace making has played such a key part in our economic and cultural heritage.”
