Prikking vastgeregen op een dubbele lap katoen en met traceerdraden voor het maken van een deel van een kraag van naaldkant c. 1915s

Editor: Here we have “Prikking vastgeregen op een dubbele lap katoen en met traceerdraden voor het maken van een deel van een kraag van naaldkant,” dating from around 1915. It's a mixed-media piece, incorporating drawing, textile, and paper. It feels quite delicate, almost ephemeral. What catches your eye in this intricate design? Curator: What strikes me is the deliberate, almost ritualistic process embedded within it. It's not merely a design; it's a map for creation, laden with the promise of transformation. Think of the fleur-de-lis motif, its royal connections repurposed here within the domestic sphere of lace making. What stories do you imagine this collar might have told? Editor: That's fascinating, I hadn't considered the social context. I suppose collars in that era often symbolized status and refinement. Curator: Precisely. The piece invites us to ponder: How does craft, often relegated to the feminine, engage with symbols of power and prestige? Consider the precise pricking and tracing - acts of preservation, ensuring the pattern's survival. The paper and cotton act almost like a coded language, ready to be deciphered. Do you see this careful work as simply technical, or perhaps something more… devotional? Editor: It seems devotional. It's more than just creating a functional object; it's an investment of time and care into something beautiful. Almost meditative, like creating a mandala. Curator: Yes, I see the mandala comparison. And perhaps this points towards something fundamental about humanity: our need to imprint order, beauty, and meaning onto the world, even amidst uncertainty, echoing across generations. What will survive of us? Perhaps these carefully pricked holes. Editor: That’s given me a new perspective on needlework, and its enduring quality. Curator: For me as well. It makes me wonder about our own contemporary practices of marking and preserving memory.