Staal van zwarte machinale kant met een schulprand; met voluutpatroon c. 1900 - 1910

This piece of black machine-made lace with a scalloped edge and volute pattern was made by Gustav Schnitzler. Looking at this lace, it feels almost like drawing with thread. Each volute, each flourish, is built up with tiny movements, a process of layering and repetition. The black thread creates such depth against the light ground. See how some areas appear almost solid, while others are so airy and delicate? It's all about the density, the way the thread is built up. My eye is drawn to that central flower with its dark, swirling centre and spiralling design. It feels like a tiny cosmos, everything revolving around that point, pulling you in. It reminds me of Eva Hesse's rope sculptures, where she took a very functional material and transformed it into something sensual and almost chaotic. It's about taking something ordinary and, through process and repetition, turning it into something extraordinary.