Historical Dictionary of Brussels

LACE

Lace: translation

One of the trademark crafts of Brussels, lace making evolved from embroidery. Needle lace appeared in Italy, most likely in Venice, at the end of the first quarter of the 16th century. Bobbin lace emerged at the same time simultaneously in Italy andFlanders. Derived from a weaving of braids technique, bobbin lace developed from the practice of weaving ribbons and other edgings on looms or plaiting them on cushions using pins to hold the criss-crossed thread in place.
Lace making began to be taught to young girls, and, by the second half of the 16th century,womenthroughout Belgium were practicing the craft. At the same time, demand for lace rose with developing tastes in fashion. The original form of lace was purely geometric in design and used to decorate clothing. Around 1580, ruffs edged with lace became fashionable and, as they became larger in succeeding decades, the lengths of fabric needed to create them necessitated large-scale production. Family-based workshops sprang up in Brussels and convents and orphanages also served as low-cost and plentiful sources of labor.
By the 17th century, Brussels had emerged as one of Europe's main lace making centers, renowned for the fineness of thread employed and the beauty of the motifs that were crafted. Demand increased as fashion dictated larger displays of lace. Sewn on to shirt collars and cuffs and adorning boot tops, lace was later used to make entire veils and gowns and for trim on bedspreads and tablecloths.
The bobbin lace ofFlandersknown as "point d'Angleterre" became especially associated with Brussels. Perfected around 1650, this lace would change in design but not in methods of production, being created without technical changes through the centuries up toWorld War II.
The name "Brussels" together with "Angleterre" came to designate bobbin laces from the city in the 18th century, a period marked by increased specialization.Sumptuary laws that had forbidden adornment with lace by the lower classes were no longer operative, adding to demand.
The early years of the 18th century were marked by a specific design that featured a net based on round stitches. After 1760, the finer "droschel" net consisted of a ground of small hexagonal meshes, with the two vertical sides of each mesh composed of four threads plaited four times.
Lace making in Brussels evolved from use of single continuous thread, by which only small pieces would be produced, to a noncon-tinuous thread technique, which permitted motifs to be worked separately and then connected by a network of meshes. Henceforth, large pieces could be created very quickly, a development that revolutionized the trade in allowing lace makers to respond swiftly to changes in fashion. The variety of designs became vast because the noncon-tinuous technique facilitated many ingenious arrangements. Brussels lace makers excelled at intricate incorporation of objects as diverse as people, buildings, and foliage. From the 1680s to about 1750, the strength of the trade in Brussels lay in its ability to create patterns in the French taste then in vogue and its dexterity in adapting quickly to changes in fashion. Highly sought after and very expensive, lace from Brussels became a favorite of the aristocracies and royal families of Europe.
Lace became unfashionable in the late 18th century during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. However, the 19th century saw a revival with the rise of regional costumes, including headdresses, and the vogue of wedding gowns, which became de rigueur beginning in the 1830s.
Machine net appeared in the early 1800s, which gave rise to appliqué work. Lace makers in Brussels adopted it quickly. The droschel background that had formerly characterized its laces was rarely employed after 1830. Instead, bobbin-made motifs were applied to machine net, which made possible rapid production of large-size pieces. Known as Brussels appliqué or "application d'Angleterre," it was noted for its high quality and rich design. Other laces included "point de gaze," a needle lace, and "Duchesse," a bobbin lace that appeared in the mid-1800s, which was inspired by Brussels patterns of the 17th century. With its light mesh background and often encrusted with medallions of needle-made point de gaze, Duchesse lace became a famous Brussels specialty.
Large quantities of lace were produced in the city's workshops, where some 10,000 women labored through the 19th century. Most production was exported, especially to North America, where no major hand-made industry existed, and South America, where a great deal of lace was traditionally worn.
Demand at the turn of the 20th century for quantity remained high, but not for quality. Machines imitated every style of lace. Competition grew apace and led the hand-made lace makers of Brussels to specialize exclusively in the luxury trade. Still, the traditional clientele for hand-made lace—the upper classes — turned more and more to antique laces, which in turn grew to become museum pieces. DuringWorld War I, souvenir laces with patriotic decorations were crafted. Production for thetouristtrade continued through the century. However, employment declined steadily as fewer women learned the craft and much production shifted to the Orient. World War II marked the definitive end of commercial hand-made lace in Brussels. The machine lace on sale today is made in China and is cheaper but inferior in quality.
Churches andmuseumsare replete with representative examples of the handicraft. The Musée du Costume et de la Dentelle (Museum of Costume and Lace) in theMaison du Roihouses an array of displays.

  1. lace—Lace translation Lace The two earliest known specimens of laceworked linen albs are that of St. Francis preserved at St. Clares convent Assisi and the alb of Pope Bonifa...Catholic encyclopedia
  2. lace—lace translationRoman noun strong for a shoe See shoelace strong decorative clothADJECTIVE delicate fine VERB LACE make a machine for making lace PHRASES trimmed ...Collocations dictionary
  3. lace—lace translation fine plastic tubing wrapped around the shank of a hook to give the appearance of a segmented body the round stick used to form the mesh in making fishin...Dictionary of ichthyology
  4. lace—lace translationSynonyms and related wordsBrussels point Roman lace Shetland lace Venetian point adulterate arabesque assail assault attack band bandage basketry basketwo...Moby Thesaurus
  5. lace—alec...Английские анаграммы
  6. lace—[les]шнурок тесьмагалункружевоалкоголь смешанный с какимлибо другим напиткомшнуровать зашнуровыватьукрашать отделывать окаймлятьбить пороть стегать хлестатьдобавлять спир...Англо-русский большой универсальный переводческий словарь
  7. lace—stone lace каменная рештка выветривания веревка насечка...Англо-русский геологический словарь
  8. lace—прошивать...Англо-русский дипломатический словарь
  9. lace—шнуровать обвязывать сшивать окаймлять отделывать украшать кружевом пороть стегать хлестать coll. придавать вкус пикантность стягиваться корсетом прибавлять коньяк в кофе...Англо-русский дополнительный словарь
  10. lace—кружево переплести переплетать сеть сшивать сшить lace a conveyer belt сшивать конвейерную ленту...Англо-русский научно-технический словарь
  11. lace—transcription транскрипция [ les ]lace n AmE sl My lace wont reach that far. I cant afford it Я не могу себе это позволить. У меня денег не хватит lace vt infml . I think...Англо-русский новый словарь современного неформального английского языка
  12. lace—кружево...Англо-русский онлайн словарь
  13. lace—кружево...Англо-русский онлайн словарь
  14. lace—пробивать отверстия во всех рядах или колонках перфокарт...Англо-русский словарь компьютерных терминов
  15. lace—n кружево шнурок...Англо-русский словарь Лингвистика-98
  16. lace—lace [les] . nu кружево шнурок тесьма галун обыкн.u gold lace silver lace разг.u коньяк илиem ликр подбавленный в кофе и т.п.u . vu шнуроватьto lace up ones shoe...Англо-русский словарь Мюллера
  17. lace—. noun шнурок . v придавать вкус vt...Англо-русский словарь непристойных выражений
  18. lace—употребляется в сочетанияхto lace a belt сшивать ремень...Англо-русский словарь нефтегазовой промышленности
  19. lace—. сущ. шнурок тесьма Syn braid . галун только в сочетаниях gold lace silver lace Syn braid . кружево delicate fine lace тонкое кружево exquisite lace тончайшее круже...Англо-русский словарь общей лексики
  20. lace—пробивать отверстия во всех рядах или колонках перфокарты...Англо-русский словарь по компьютерам
  21. lace—strong шнур тесьма закреплять шнуромstrong украшать орнаментом в виде сплетнных шнуров lace in lace up...Англо-русский словарь по полиграфии
  22. lace—v. шнуровать обвязывать стягиваться корсетом сшивать окаймлять отделывать украшать кружевом пороть стегать хлестать прибавлять коньяк в кофе подбавлять спиртные напитки...Англо-русский словарь редакция bed
  23. lace—n. шнурок тесьма галун кружево гипюр...Англо-русский словарь редакция bed
  24. lace—шнурок тесьма материал для сшивки напр. лент конвейеровАнглорусский строительный словарь. М. Русский Язык.С.Н.Корчемкина С.К.Кашкина С.В.Курбатова...Англо-русский словарь строительных терминов
  25. lace—. laser aerospace communications experiment эксперимент по лазерной связи в воздушнокосмическом пространстве. laser airborne communications experiment эксперимент по ла...Англо-русский словарь технических аббревиатур
  26. lace—кружево сеть сшивать сшить переплетать переплестиlace a conveyer belt сшивать конвейерную ленту...Англо-русский технический словарь
  27. lace—.strong n мереживо шнурок тасьма галунзвич. gold lace silver laceem стка розм. коньяк або лкер доданий до кави тощоem.strong v шнуруватиto lace up ones shoes шнурувати ч...Англо-украинский словарь
  28. lace—мереживо шнурок поворозка мережка...Англо-український словник
  29. lace—. n мереживо шнурок тасьма boots черевики на шнурках спорт шнурвка мяча коньяк лкер що додаться до кави тех. ремнна зшивка gold silver галун . v шнурувати to up ...Англо-український словник Балла М.І.
  30. lacé—mстеклянная подвеска у люстры...Большой французско-русский и русско-французский словарь
  31. lace—Шнур тесьма закреплять шнуром Украшать орнаментом в виде сплетнных шнуров. Краткий толковый словарь по полиграфии....Краткий толковый словарь по полиграфии
  32. lace—I n AmE sl My lace wont reach that far. I cant afford it Я не могу себе это позволить. У меня денег не хватит II vt infml I think Ill lace my coffee with a little whisk...Новый англо-русский словарь современной разговорной лексики
  33. lace—.strong [les] n. шнурок шнуровкаcorset lace корсетный шнурокcut the lace разрежь шнуровку спорт. шнуровка мяча. тесьмаgold [silver] lace золотой [серебряный] галун по...Новый большой англо-русский словарь
  34. lace—lace . [les] ni . шнурок шнуровка corset корсетный шнурок cut the разрежь шнуровку спорт. iшнуровка мяча . тесьма gold [silver] золотой [серебряный] галун позумен...Новый большой англо-русский словарь II
  35. lace—.strong les n . шнурок шнуровка corset корсетный шнурок cut the разрежь шнуровку спорт. emшнуровка мяча . тесьма gold silver золотой серебряный галун позумен...Новый большой англо-русский словарь под общим руководством акад. Ю.Д. Апресяна
  36. lacé—m стеклянная подвеска у люстрыem...Новый французско-русский словарь
  37. láce—дешевизна дешевка...Чешско-русский словарь