Cleveland Museum of Art

Fragment of a Border with Abstract Pattern

Date

1500s

Medium

Unbleached and bleached linen (est.), or cotton (est.): needle lace, burato (twined ground and darned in one direction); brown silk (est.): bobbin lace edging

Culture

Italy, Sicily, 1500s

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The dark yellow ground of the unbleached linen allows for the pattern, worked in bleached linen in the buratto technique, to stand out. Brown silk thread has also been incorporated, adding a shimmering effect to the contrasting colors. The frayed quality of the fragment causes the buratto pattern to appear abstracted, but it was likely a flowering vine.

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