Cap crown

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This cap crown is unusual for its depiction of a character from classical mythology—Orpheus, playing his lyre to charm the birds and animals around him. This type of bobbin lace is called Mechlin, so named for the town where it was made. It is a straight lace, meaning the motifs are made at the same time as the background mesh (in this case, hexagonal), with a thicker thread of shiny linen defining the motifs. This piece was made in three lengths, each using more than five hundred thread-wound bobbins. The strips are cleverly joined in an irregular path around motifs, avoiding joins in the mesh, which are hard to conceal. Strips of straight lace are only limited in width by the number of bobbins that can fit on a lace pillow.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art