Point de Venise is a Venetian

needle lace Needle lace is a type of lace created using a needle and thread to create hundreds of small stitches to form the lace itself. Origins The origins of needle lace date back to the 15th century and embroidery. Cutwork and drawn work were de ...

from the 17th century characterized by scrolling floral patterns with additional

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

l motifs worked in relief (in contrast with the geometric designs of the earlier reticella). By the mid-seventeenth century, it had overtaken Flemish lace as the most desirable type of lace in contemporary European fashion. Beginning in 1620 it became separated into Venetian raised lace (which became known by the French term "''gros point de Venise''" or sometimes the Italian ''punto a relievo'', "relief lace" ) and Venetian flat lace (in French "''point plat de Venise''"). The former (now known in English as "''Venetian Gros Point''") is characterized by having a raised pattern created through the use of cordonette worked over with buttonholing so that the curves achieved an elevated quality similar to a relief carving. Emily Leigh Lowes, historian of lace and needlework, described the history of this textile:

Notes

References

*Lefébure, Ernest, b. 1835: ''Embroidery and Lace: Their Manufacture and History from the Remotest Antiquity to the Present Day'' (London: H. Grevel and Co., 1888), ed. by Alan S. Col
Online Books page
*Montupet, Janine, and Ghislaine Schoeller: ''Lace: The Elegant Web'', *Lowes, Emily Leigh: "Chats on Old Lace & Needlework". (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1908)

Needle lace Textile arts of Italy {{textile-arts-stub