Genoese Lace

Genoese lace, bobbin lace made at Genoa, Italy, from the second half of the 16th century; it developed from the earlier knotted fringe called punto a groppo. The early laces (merletti a piombini, “laces made with lead weights”) were used for the edging of ruffs and later of collars. Styles followed a pattern similar to needle-made lace in Venice, taking the form of deeply pointed “vandykes” (V-shaped points seen on collars in many 17th-century portraits by Anthony Van Dyck). These points began to give way in about 1600 to round, scalloped edges. Genoa was famous also for its tape lace, made from flat but curving bobbin-made tape in a needle-made or bobbin-made net.