Spanish Lace

Spanish lace, lace made in Spain; the name is also erroneously given to much lace that was in fact imported into Spain from the 17th century onward. The Spaniards imported a great deal of Venetian needle lace for church use in the 17th century. When the Spanish monasteries were dissolved in 1830, much ecclesiastical lace came to light that was described as “Spanish point,” but little, if any, of this can be said to be indigenous. Similarly, bobbin-made lace was imported from the Spanish-dominated parts of the Netherlands. At Barcelona, lace of a rather undistinguished sort was made in the 18th century, but good-quality lace for mantillas was imported from France, especially Chantilly. At the beginning of the 19th century, blonde and black blonde silk lace (see blonde lace) was made in Catalonia and La Mancha, the silk being spun near Barcelona. Various lace-making centres at different times have produced laces specifically in the Spanish style, which generally denotes a somewhat heavier than usual type of lace.