New exhibit on Lace opens at Visitation Museum in Moulins, France
Excerpts Translated by blogger:
Here are four reasons to discover the new exhibition presented at the Museum of the Visitation, in Moulins, until December 23:
The new temporary exhibition of the Visitation Museum shows beautiful lace. And not only those of liturgical clothing.
“This exhibition shows a part of the museum’s collections – 12,000 pieces – never revealed, and whose importance is unknown,” explains Gérard Picaud, curator of the exhibition, with Jean Foisselon.
Bruno Ythier, the curator at the Cité Internationale de la Tapestry in Aubusson and Martine Gauvard, the French specialist in lace, worked on the lace collections of Visitandines, placed at Moulins by the various convents of the order.
A dive into history
The exhibition offers a striking dive in the history of lace, from the end of the sixteenth to the twentieth century. The oldest piece: a formal shirt from 1590 produced in Italy. The most recent pieces date from the 20th century.
It is also a journey in lace across Europe: Venice, France, Sedan, Alancon, Flanders, Italy …
A didactic exhibition
The exhibition is didactic: a video shows the sisters of Argenton in full work. These nuns perpetuate handmade points for centuries.
The three techniques of lace-makers are presented: lace with the needle, the thread embroidered, which makes it possible in particular to create Flemish metal laces, very meticulous, and the spindle.
The exhibition offers an overview of all these practices: ironing, maintenance, starching and folding.
Thorough know-how
It would sometimes take a magnifying glass to appreciate the fineness of execution. A piece of the size of an inch can represent up to 100 hours of work, for workers “who worked in a cellar, to keep the thread wet,” says the curator of the exhibition.
The diversity of the pieces is stunning: lady crowns, wedding veils, fans, upholstery, handkerchiefs, tablecloths, paintings with lace pieces and of course religious clothing. Some pieces, very rare, present landscapes (Annecy) or scenes of the Bible.
A careful museography
Reproductions of embroidery in bright colors, reproductions of paintings highlight the lace. Beautiful dresses of court are presented on mannequins.
The visit can be done with audioguide, to better understand the history of these treasures